In-oven camera and computer vision systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods include a cooking appliance comprising a heating element disposed within a cooking chamber and operable to selectively emit waves at any of a plurality of powers and/or peak wavelengths, a camera operable to capture an image of the cooking chamber, and a computing device operable to supply power to the heating element to vary the power and/or peak wavelength of the emitted waves and generate heat within the cooking chamber, and instruct the camera to capture the image when the heating element is emitting at a stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device is operable to generate an adjusted captured image by adjusting the captured image with respect to the stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device comprises feedback components operable to receive the adjusted captured image, extract features, and analyze the one or more features to determine an event, property, measurement and/or status.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/030,858, entitled “IN-OVEN CAMERA AND COMPUTER VISION SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS,” filed Jul. 9, 2018, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/922,877, entitled “DYNAMIC HEATADJUSTMENT OF A SPECTRAL POWER DISTRIBUTION CONFIGURABLE COOKINGINSTRUMENT”, filed Mar. 15, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,156,366 issuedOct. 26, 2021, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/922,877 is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/261,784, entitled “IN-OVEN CAMERA”,filed Sep. 9, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,760,794 issued Sep. 1, 2020,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/249,456, entitled “HEATING TECHNIQUE VIA FILAMENT WAVELENGTH TUNING,”filed Nov. 2, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/216,859,entitled “WIRELESS TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM,” filed Sep. 10, 2015;U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/218,942, entitled “IN-OVENCAMERA,” filed Sep. 15, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/240,794, entitled “TEMPERATURE PROBE ATTACHMENT WITHIN COOKINGINSTRUMENT,” filed Oct. 13, 2015 and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/256,626, entitled “CLOUD-BASED RECIPE STORE FOR CONFIGURABLECOOKING INSTRUMENT,” filed Nov. 17, 2015, which all are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate to cooking appliances, such as ovens.

BACKGROUND

The art of cooking remains an “art” at least partially because of thefood industry's inability to help cooks to produce systematically awardworthy dishes. To make a full course meal, a cook often has to usemultiple cooking appliances, understand the heating patterns of thecooking appliances, and make dynamic decisions throughout the entirecooking process based on the cook's observation of the target food'sprogression (e.g., transformation due to cooking/heating). Because ofthis, while some low-end meals can be microwaved (e.g., microwavablemeals) or quickly produced (e.g., instant noodles), traditionally, trulycomplex meals (e.g., steak, kebabs, sophisticated dessert, etc.) cannotbe produced systematically using conventional cooking appliancesautomatically. The industry has yet been able to create an intelligentcooking appliance capable of automatically and consistently producingcomplex meals with precision, speed, and lack of unnecessary humanintervention.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods of various embodiments include a cooking appliancecomprising a heating element disposed within a cooking chamber andoperable to selectively emit waves at any of a plurality of powersand/or peak wavelengths, a camera operable to capture an image of thecooking chamber, and a computing device operable to supply power to theheating element to vary the power and/or peak wavelength of the emittedwaves and generate heat within the cooking chamber, and instruct thecamera to capture the image when the heating element is emitting at astabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device isoperable to generate an adjusted captured image by adjusting thecaptured image with respect to the stabilized power and/or peakwavelength. The computing device comprises feedback components operableto receive the adjusted captured image, extract features, and analyzethe one or more features to determine an event, property, measurementand/or status.

Several embodiments describe a cooking appliance (e.g., an enclosedcooking chamber or otherwise) having one or more heating elementscontrolled by a computing device (e.g., a computer processing unit(CPU), a controller, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), orany combination thereof). The computing device can control the outputpower, peak emission wavelength and/or the spectral power distributionof the heating elements. For example, each heating element can includeone or more filament assembly, one or more drivers that receivescommands from a computing device and adjust the output power, peakwavelength, and/or spectral power distribution of waves emitted from thefilament assembly, a containment vessel, or any combination thereof. Thecomputing device can control the filament assemblies (e.g., individuallyor as a whole) by controlling the electric signals driving thesefilament assemblies. For example, the computing device can changedriving power, average electrical current level, driving signal pattern,driving signal frequency, or any combination thereof to target differentmaterial in a cooking chamber of the cooking appliance to heat. Forexample, the peak wavelength of waves emitted by a filament assembly cancoincide with excitable wavelength of meat, water, a glass tray in thecooking appliance, interior chamber wall of the cooking appliance,containment vessels (e.g., envelope) of the filament assemblies, or anycombination thereof. The computing device can implement an interactiveuser interface to control the cooking appliance. For example, theinteractive user interface can be implemented on a touchscreen of thecooking appliance or a mobile device connected to the computing deviceof the cooking appliance. Each cooking recipe can include one or moreheat adjustment algorithms.

The cooking appliance can instantiate and execute a heat adjustmentalgorithm (e.g., also referred to as “heating logic”) based on a cookingrecipe (e.g., a set of instructions to operate a cooking appliance). Insome embodiments, the disclosed cooking appliance can directly emulateone or more types of conventional cooking appliances (e.g., a convectionoven, a baking oven, a kiln, a grill, a roaster, a furnace, a range, amicrowave, a smoker, a pan, a sous vide appliance or any combinationthereof). In some embodiments, the cooking appliance can download (e.g.,directly or indirectly) one or more cooking recipes from an externalcomputer server system.

Some embodiments of this disclosure have other aspects, elements,features, and steps in addition to or in place of what is describedabove. Some of these potential additions and replacements are describedthroughout the rest of the specification

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a structural diagram of a perspective view of an example of acooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a structural diagram of a perspective view of another exampleof a cooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating physical components of a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional components of acooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance to cook an edible substance, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional front view of a first example of a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional top view of the cooking appliance of FIG.5A along lines A-A′, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional top view of the cooking appliance of FIG.5A along lines B-B′, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional top view of the cooking appliance of FIG.5A along lines C-C′, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view of a second example of a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a heating system of a cooking appliance,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a driver circuit for a heating element ina cooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating the cookingappliance to cook a food substance utilizing optical feedback, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10A is an example of a perspective view of an interior chamber of acooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10B is another example of a perspective view of an interior chamberof a cooking appliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11A is an example of a temperature probe that monitors temperaturesinside edible substance to provide temperature feedback to a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the cable of the temperature probeof FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A is an example of a side view of a probe and tray connection, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 12B is an example of a top view of the probe and tray connection,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 13 is an example of a front view of a temperature probe connector,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 14 is an example of a front view of a mating connectorcorresponding to the temperature probe connector of FIG. 13, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating the cookingappliance to cook a food substance utilizing temperature feedback, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance to cook an edible substance evenly, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance to cook an edible substance in different modes, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a system environment of a cloud-based recipe store, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a server system that implements acloud-based recipe store, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 20 is a control flow diagram illustrating an example of a cookingrecipe, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a serversystem that implements a cloud-based recipe store, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of configuring a cookingappliance with a cooking recipe, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless temperaturemeasurement device in communication with a cooking appliance, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance 2530.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device in communication with a cookingappliance.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device.

FIG. 30 is a graph diagram illustrating signal generator waveform forvarious embodiments of a remote signal generator circuit.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe.

FIG. 32A is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 31 with theinsertion aid at a first position.

FIG. 32B is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 31 with theinsertion aid at a second position.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe.

FIG. 34A is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 33 with theinsertion aid at a first position.

FIG. 34B is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 33 with theinsertion aid at a second position.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe.

FIG. 36A is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 35 with theinsertion aid at a first position.

FIG. 36B is a side view of the temperature probe of FIG. 35 with theinsertion aid at a second position.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of a chamber of a cooking appliancewith an in-oven camera, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram illustrating a cooking appliance, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 40 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 41 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a cookingappliance, in accordance with various embodiments.

The figures depict various embodiments of this disclosure for purposesof illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles of embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a structural diagram of a perspective view of an example of acooking appliance 100A, in accordance with various embodiments. Thecooking appliance 100A can include a chamber 102 having a door 106. Atleast one cooking platform 110 is disposed inside the chamber 102. Thecooking platform 110 can be a tray, a rack, or any combination thereof.The chamber 102 can be lined with one or more heating elements (e.g., aheating element 114A, a heating element 114B, etc.). Each of heatingelements can include a wavelength controllable filament assembly. Thewavelength controllable filament assembly is capable of independentlyadjusting an emission frequency/wavelength, emission power, and/oremission signal pattern in response to a command from a computing device(not shown) of the cooking appliance 100A.

In several embodiments, the chamber 102 is windowless. That is, thechamber 102, including the door 106, is entirely enclosed without anytransparent (and/or semitransparent) parts when the door 106 is closed.For example, the chamber 102 can be sealed within a metal enclosure(e.g., with thermal insulation from/to the outside of the chamber 102)when the door 106 is closed. A camera 118A can be attached to aninterior of the chamber 102. In some embodiments, the camera 118A isattached to the door 106. The camera 118A can be adapted to capture animage of content at least partially inside the chamber 102. For example,the camera 118A can face inward toward the interior of the chamber 102when the door 106 is closed and upward when the door 106 is opened asillustrated. In some embodiments, the camera 118A is installed on theceiling (e.g., top interior surface) of the chamber 102. The camera 118Acan be attached to the door 106 or proximate (e.g., within three inches)to the door 106 on the ceiling of the chamber 102 to enable easycleaning, convenient scanning of labels, privacy, heat damage avoidance,and etc.

In several embodiments, the heating elements (e.g., heating elements114A and 114B) include one or more wavelength-controllable filamentassemblies at one or more locations in the chamber. In some embodiments,each of the one or more wavelength-controllable filament assemblies iscapable of independently adjusting its emission frequency (e.g., peakemission frequency) and/or its emission power. For example, the peakemission frequency of the wavelength-controllable filament assembliescan be tuned within a broad band range (e.g., from 20 terahertz to 300terahertz). Different frequencies can correspond to differentpenetration depth for heating the food substances, other items withinthe chamber 102, and/or parts of the cooking appliance 100A.

The heating elements can be controlled to have varying power, either byusing a rapidly switching pulse width modulation (PWM)-like electronicsby having a relay-like control that turns on and off relatively quicklycompared to the thermal inertia of the heating filament itself. Thechange in peak emission frequency can be directly correlated with theamount of power delivered into the heating element. More powercorrelates to higher peak emission frequency. In some cases, the cookingappliance 100A can hold the power constant while lowering the peakemission frequency by activating more heating elements, each at a lowerpower. The cooking appliance 100A can independently control peakemission frequencies of the filament assemblies and power them bydriving these filament assemblies individually.

In some embodiments, using the max power for each individual heatingelement to achieve the highest emission frequency is challenging becausethe power consumption may be insufficiently supplied by the AC powersupply (e.g., because it would trip the fuse). In some embodiments, thisis resolved by sequentially driving each individual heating element atmaximum power instead of driving them in parallel with reduced power.Intermediate peak emission frequency can be achieved by having acombination of sequential driving and parallel driving.

In some embodiments, the camera 118A includes an infrared sensor toprovide thermal images to the computing device as feedback to a heatadjustment algorithm. In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 100Aincludes multiple cameras. In some embodiments, the camera 118A includesa protective shell. In some embodiments, the heating elements 114A and114B and the camera 118A are disposed in the chamber 102 such that thecamera 118A is not directly between any pairing of the heating elements.For example, the heating elements 114A and 114B can be disposed alongtwo vertical walls perpendicular to the door 106. The heating elements114A and 114B can be quartz tubes (e.g., with heating filaments therein)that runs horizontally on the vertical walls and perpendicular to thedoor 106.

In some embodiments, a display 122A is attached to the door 106. Thedisplay 122A can be a touchscreen display. The display 122A can beattached to an exterior of the chamber 102 on an opposite side of thedoor 106 from the camera 118A. The display 122A can be configured todisplay an image or a video of the interior of the chamber captured byand/or streamed from the camera 118A. In some embodiments, the imageand/or the video can be displayed (e.g., in real-time) synchronous tothe capturing. In some embodiments, the image and/or the video can bedisplayed sometime after the capturing of the image or video.

FIG. 1B is a structural diagram of a perspective view of another exampleof a cooking appliance 100B, in accordance with various embodiments. Thecooking appliance 100B is similar to the cooking appliance 100A exceptfor the following differences. The illustrated structural diagram showspotential variations to the components of various embodiments. In theillustrated example, the cooking appliance 100B has a display 122B onthe door 106, instead of on its top surface as in the cooking appliance100A. In the illustrated example, heating elements 114C and 114D extendparallel away from the door 106, instead of in parallel to the edges ofthe door 106 as in the cooking appliance 100A. In the illustratedexample, the cooking appliance 100B has a camera 118B positioned on thedoor 106 instead on a top interior surface of the chamber 102. Thecamera 118B can be adapted to capture an image of content at leastpartially inside the chamber 102.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating physical components of a cookingappliance 200 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A and/or the cookingappliance 100B), in accordance with various embodiments. The cookingappliance 200 can include a power source 202, a computing device 206, anoperational memory 210, a persistent memory 214, one or more heatingelements 218 (e.g., the heating elements 114), a cooling system 220, acamera 222 (e.g., the camera 118A or the camera 118B), a networkinterface 226, a display 230 (e.g., the display 122A or the display122B), an input component 234, an output component 238, a light source242, a microphone 244, one or more environment sensors 246, a chamberthermometer 250, a temperature probe 254, or any combination thereof.

The computing device 206, for example, can be a control circuit. Thecontrol circuit can be an application-specific integrated circuit or acircuit with a general-purpose processor configured by executableinstructions stored in the operational memory 210 and/or the persistentmemory 214. The computing device 206 can control all or at least asubset of the physical components and/or functional components of thecooking appliance 200.

The power source 202 provides the power necessary to operate thephysical components of the cooking appliance 200. For example, the powersource 202 can convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current(DC) power for the physical components. In some embodiments, the powersource 202 can run a first powertrain to the heating elements 218 and asecond powertrain to the other components.

The computing device 206 can control output power, peak wavelengthsand/or spectral power distributions (e.g., across different wavelengths)of the heating elements 218. The computing device 206 can implementvarious functional components (e.g., see FIG. 3) to facilitateoperations (e.g., automated or semi-automated operations) of the cookingappliance 200. For example, the persistent memory 214 can store one ormore cooking recipes, which are sets of operational instructions andschedules to drive the heating elements 218. The operational memory 210can provide runtime memory to execute the functional components of thecomputing device 206. In some embodiments, the persistent memory 214and/or the operational memory 210 can store image files or video filescaptured by the camera 222.

The heating elements 218 can be wavelength controllable. For example,the heating elements 218 can include quartz tubes, each enclosing one ormore heating filaments. In various embodiments, the side of the quartztubes facing toward the chamber wall instead of the interior of thechamber is coated with a heat resistant coating. However, because theoperating temperature of the heating filaments can be extremely high,the cooling system 220 provides convection cooling to prevent the heatresistant coating from melting or vaporizing.

The heating elements 218 can respectively include filament drivers 224,filament assemblies 228, and containment vessels 232. For example, eachheating element can include a filament assembly housed by a containmentvessel. The filament assembly can be driven by a filament driver. Inturn, the filament driver can be controlled by the computing device 206.For example, the computing device 206 can instruct the power source 202to provide a set amount of DC power to the filament driver. In turn, thecomputing device 206 can instruct the filament driver to drive thefilament assembly to generate electromagnetic waves at a set outputpower and/or peak wavelength.

The camera 222 serves various functions in the operation of the cookingappliance 200. For example, the camera 222 and the display 230 togethercan provide a virtual window to the inside of the chamber despite thecooking appliance 200 being windowless. The camera 222 can serve as afood package label scanner that configures the cooking appliance 200 byrecognizing a machine-readable optical label of the food packages. Insome embodiments, the camera 222 can enable the computing device 206 touse optical feedback when executing a cooking recipe. In severalembodiments, the light source 242 can illuminate the interior of thecooking appliance 200 such that the camera 222 can clearly capture animage of the food substance therein. In some embodiments, the lightsource 242 is part of the heating elements 218.

In some embodiments, the light source 242 is a directional light source(e.g., a light emitting diode or a laser). In some embodiments, thelight source 242 is configured to project light over the contents in acooking chamber of the cooking appliance 200. The camera 222 can beconfigured to capture one or more images while the light source 242 isprojecting the light. The computing device 206 can be configured todevelop a three-dimensional model of the contents in the cooking chamberbased on the one or more images.

In some embodiments, the camera 222 is a dual camera system having afirst sub-camera and a second sub-camera. The dual camera system can beconfigured to capture pairs of images simultaneously. The computingdevice 206 can be configured to analyze a pair of output images from thedual camera system to determine depth information associated withcontent in a cooking chamber of the cooking appliance 200.

The network interface 226 enables the computing device 206 tocommunicate with external computing devices. For example, the networkinterface 226 can enable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. A user device can connectwith the computing device 206 directly via the network interface 226 orindirectly via a router or other network devices. The network interface226 can connect the computing device 206 to an external device withInternet connection, such as a router or a cellular device. In turn, thecomputing device 206 can have access to a cloud service over theInternet connection. In some embodiments, the network interface 226 canprovide cellular access to the Internet.

The display 230, the input component 234, and the output component 238enable a user to directly interact with the functional components of thecomputing device 206. For example, the display 230 can present imagesfrom the camera 222. The display 230 can also present a controlinterface implemented by the computing device 206. The input component234 can be a touch panel overlaid with the display 230 (e.g.,collectively as a touchscreen display). In some embodiments, the inputcomponent 234 is one or more mechanical buttons. In some embodiments,the output component 238 is the display 230. In some embodiments, theoutput component 238 is a speaker or one or more external lights.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 200 includes the microphone244, and/or the one or more environment sensors 246. The environmentsensors 246 can include a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a smokesensor, a pollutant sensor, or any combination thereof. The computingdevice 206 can also utilize the outputs of the environment sensors 246as dynamic feedback to adjust the controls of the heating elements 218in real-time according to a heat adjustment algorithm.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 200 includes the chamberthermometer 250, and/or the temperature probe 254. For example, thecomputing device 206 can utilize the temperature readings from thechamber thermometer 250 as dynamic feedback to adjust the controls ofthe heating elements 218 in real-time according to a heat adjustmentalgorithm. The temperature probe 254 can be adapted to be inserted intoedible substance to be cooked by the cooking appliance 200. Thecomputing device 206 can also utilize the outputs of the temperatureprobe 254 as dynamic feedback to adjust the controls of the heatingelements 218 in real-time according to a heat adjustment algorithm. Forexample, the heat adjustment algorithm of a cooking recipe can dictatethat the edible substance should be heated at a preset temperature for apreset amount time according to the cooking recipe.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional components of acooking appliance 300 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cookingappliance 100B and/or the cooking appliance 200), in accordance withvarious embodiments. For example, the functional components can run onthe computing device 206 or one or more specialized circuits. Forexample, the cooking appliance 300 can implement at least a cookingrecipe library 302, a recipe execution engine 306, a low level hardwarecontrol engine 308, a sensor data analysis, prediction and controlengine 309, a control interface 310, a cloud access engine 314, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments, the recipe execution engine 306 can analyze animage from a camera (e.g., the camera 222) to determine whether a door(e.g., the door 106) is open. For example, the image from the camera maybe illuminated by a specific color of a specific light source (e.g., thelight source 242) when facing toward an interior of the cookingappliance 300. The recipe execution engine 306 can configure aninteractive user interface (e.g., the control interface 310) to querythe user to specify content being placed in the chamber when the door isopen. In some embodiments, responsive to detecting that the door is openduring execution of a heating recipe, the recipe execution engine 306can stop or pause the execution of the heating recipe for safety.

In some embodiments, the recipe execution engine 306 is configured toanalyze an image from the camera to determine whether a machine-readableoptical label is within the image. For example, the recipe executionengine 306 can be configured to select a cooking recipe from the cookingrecipe library 302 based on the machine-readable optical label. In someembodiments, the control interface 310 is configured to send a messageto a user device to confirm the automatically selected cooking recipe.In some embodiments, the recipe execution engine 306 is configured topresent the cooking recipe for confirmation on a local display and toreceive the confirmation a local input component when the cooking recipeis displayed. In response to the selection of the cooking recipe, therecipe execution engine 306 can execute a heating configuration scheduleby controlling the heating elements according to the cooking recipe anda heat adjustment algorithm specified therein. The heat adjustmentalgorithm is capable of dynamically controlling the heating elements 218(e.g., adjusting output power, spectral power distribution, and/or peakwavelength) in real-time in response to changing input variables.

The control interface 310 can be used to interact with a user, via auser interface of the cooking appliance 300, a remote user interface ona user device, or other means. For example, a user device (e.g., acomputer or a mobile device) can connect to the control interface 310via the network interface 226. Via this connection, the user canconfigure the cooking appliance 300 in real-time. In another example,the control interface 310 can generate an interactive user interface ona display device and/or a touchscreen device of the cooking appliance300. In one example, the user can select a cooking recipe via auser-device-side application. The user-device-side application cancommunicate the control interface 310 to cause the cooking appliance 300to execute the selected cooking recipe. The cloud access engine 314 canenable the cooking appliance 300 to access a cloud service to facilitateexecution of a cooking recipe or update the cooking recipes in thecooking recipe library 302.

Components (e.g., physical or functional) associated with the cookingappliance can be implemented as devices, modules, circuitry, firmware,software, or other functional instructions. For example, the functionalcomponents can be implemented in the form of special-purpose circuitry,in the form of one or more appropriately programmed processors, a singleboard chip, a field programmable gate array, a network-capable computingdevice, a virtual machine, a cloud computing environment, or anycombination thereof. For example, the functional components describedcan be implemented as instructions on a tangible storage memory capableof being executed by a processor or other integrated circuit chip. Thetangible storage memory may be volatile or non-volatile memory. In someembodiments, the volatile memory may be considered “non-transitory” inthe sense that it is not a transitory signal. Memory space and storagesdescribed in the figures can be implemented with the tangible storagememory as well, including volatile or non-volatile memory.

Each of the components may operate individually and independently ofother components. Some or all of the components may be executed on thesame host device or on separate devices. The separate devices can becoupled through one or more communication channels (e.g., wireless orwired channel) to coordinate their operations. Some or all of thecomponents may be combined as one component. A single component may bedivided into sub-components, each sub-component performing separatemethod step or method steps of the single component.

In some embodiments, at least some of the components share access to amemory space. For example, one component may access data accessed by ortransformed by another component. The components may be considered“coupled” to one another if they share a physical connection or avirtual connection, directly or indirectly, allowing data accessed ormodified by one component to be accessed in another component. In someembodiments, at least some of the components can be upgraded or modifiedremotely (e.g., by reconfiguring executable instructions that implementsa portion of the functional components). The systems, engines, ordevices described herein may include additional, fewer, or differentcomponents for various applications.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 of operating the cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cooking appliance 300) to cook anedible substance, in accordance with various embodiments. The method 400can be controlled by a computing device (e.g., the computing device206).

At step 402, the computing device can select a cooking recipe (e.g.,from a local cooking recipe library stored in the local memory (e.g.,the operational memory 210 and/or the persistent memory 214) of thecomputing device and/or the cooking appliance, a heating libraryimplemented by a cloud service accessible through a network interface(e.g., the network interface 226), or another external source connectedto the computing device). Optionally, at step 404, the computing devicecan identify a food profile of an edible substance in or about to be inthe cooking appliance. For example, the computing device can utilize acamera to identify the food profile (e.g., performing image recognitionof the edible substance or scanning a digital label attached to an outerpackage of the edible substance). In some embodiments, the user mayinput the food profile through the user interface. The food profile canidentify properties of the food which may include the size of the ediblesubstance, the weight of the edible substance, the shape of the ediblesubstance, the current temperature of the edible substance, other foodproperties and/or any combination thereof.

At step 406, the computing device can instantiate and/or configure,based on the cooking recipe and/or the food profile, a heat adjustmentalgorithm to control a heating process of the edible substance. The heatadjustment algorithm specifies how to adjust the driving parameters ofone or more heating elements in the cooking appliance based on inputvariables that may change over time. Input variables can include timelapsed (e.g., from when the heating elements are first driven and/orwhen the heating process first begins), temperature within the cookingappliance, user input via an external device connected to the computingdevice or a control panel of the cooking appliance, temperature withinthe edible substance (e.g., as reported by a temperature probe insertedinto the edible substance), real-time image analysis of the ediblesubstance, real-time environment sensor outputs analysis, other sensed,calculated or received data and/or any combination thereof. At step 408,the computing device can update, in real-time, the input variables and,at step 410, re-adjust the driving parameters to the heating elementsaccording to the heating adjustment algorithm.

Part of the adjustment made by the heat adjustment algorithm can includeheat intensity, peak wavelength (e.g., for targeting different ediblesubstance or material within the cooking chamber), heat duration,topical heat location (e.g., zones), or any combination thereof. Invarious embodiments, the heat intensity of a heating element correspondsto power supplied by the heating element, and heat duration correspondsto a duration of emitting at a given target power and/or peakwavelength. The computing device can configured the heating elements toapply different heating patterns to different zones on a tray in thecooking appliance. The different zones can be portions of the tray orregions of edible substance resting on the tray. The computing devicecan configure the heating elements to apply, simultaneously orsequentially, different heating patterns (e.g., heating levels) todifferent zones (e.g., areas above the tray) on the support tray bysupplying different amount of power to different heating elements. Thecomputing device can configure the heating elements to apply differentheating patterns to different zones on the support tray by driving theheating elements of the heating system at varying output power and/orpeak wavelengths. The cooking appliance can include a perforatedmetallic sheet between the tray and at least one of the heatingelements. The computing device can configure the heating elements toapply different heating patterns to different zones on the support trayby using the perforated metallic sheet to spatially block portions ofwaves emitted by the at least one of the heating elements.

At step 412, the computing device can compute, based on the heatingadjustment algorithm, when to terminate the heating process (e.g., whenthe cooking appliance stops supplying power to the heating elements). Insome embodiments, the heating adjustment algorithm takes into accountwhether the edible substance is expected to be extracted out of thecooking appliance substantially immediately after the termination of theheating process (e.g., a high-speed mode). For example, the heatingadjustment algorithm can shorten the expected termination time if theuser indicates that the edible substance will remain in the cookingappliance a preset duration after the termination of the heating process(e.g., a low stress mode).

While processes or methods are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to providealternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may beimplemented in a variety of different ways. In addition, while processesor blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, theseprocesses or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may beperformed at different times. When a process or step is “based on” avalue or a computation, the process or step should be interpreted asbased at least on that value or that computation.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional front view of a first example of a cookingappliance 500 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance100B, the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cooking appliance 300), inaccordance with various embodiments. The cooking appliance 500 includesa chamber 502 and one or more filament assemblies 506 (e.g., a filamentassembly 506A, a filament assembly 506B, a filament assembly 506C, afilament assembly 506D, a filament assembly 506E, a filament assembly506F, etc., collectively as the “filament assemblies 506”) at one ormore locations in the chamber 502. The filament assemblies 506 can bepart of the heating elements of the cooking appliance 500. Each of thefilament assemblies 506 can include a containment vessel 508 surroundinga filament 510. The containment vessel 508 can be coated with reflectivematerial to serve as a reflector 511. This way, the reflector 511 isprevented from being fouled by debris. The containment vessel 508 can bemade of quartz. The reflective material can be gold or white ceramics,such as zirconium oxide, silicon oxide, etc. The filament assemblies 506can be tungsten halogen assemblies. The reflective material can becoated on a portion of an outer surface of the each heating element thatfaces away from a tray 516.

A computing device (e.g., the computing device 206) can be configured tocontrol the peak emission wavelengths of the filament assemblies 506.For example, the computing device can be configured to identify a foodprofile associated with an edible substance (e.g., in the chamber 502)based on sensor input (e.g., camera scanning a label) or the user input.The computing device can then determine one or more excitablewavelengths associated with the food profile. The computing device candrive the filament assemblies 506 to emit at a peak emission wavelengthcorresponding to at least one of the excitable wavelengths to heat theedible substance.

In some embodiments, the chamber 502 is entirely enclosed in metal. Insome embodiments, the chamber 502 has the door. In some embodiments, thechamber 502 has one or more transparent windows (e.g., glass windows).In some embodiments, one or more perforated metal sheets 512 (e.g., aperforated metal sheet 512A and/or a perforated metal sheet 512B,collectively as the “perforated metal sheets 512”) are disposed withinthe chamber 502. In some embodiments, there is only a single perforatedmetal sheet in the chamber 502 (e.g., above the tray 516 or below thetray 516). In some embodiments, there are two perforated metal sheets(as shown). Each of the perforated metal sheets 512 can be a removableor fixated panel. The perforated metal sheets 512 can enable control ofheating concentration along a horizontal plane parallel its surface.Perforated metal sheets, such as a perforated aluminum foil, can be usedto shield certain food items from the intense radiant heat generated bythe heating elements. For example, when cooking a steak and vegetablesside-by-side, the perforated metal sheets can shield the vegetables frombeing overcooked and enable the steak to receive the full power from theheating elements. Longer wavelength emission from the filamentassemblies 506 can penetrate perforations more equally compared toshorter wavelength. Hence even if the perforations were designed toshield, for example, 90% of direct radiant heat, the cooking appliancecan still independently tune the heating by varying the wavelength. Thisenables some control of side-by-side cooking in addition to directradiant heating.

In some embodiments, the chamber 502 includes the tray 516 (e.g., thecooking platform 110) in the chamber 502. In some embodiments, the tray516 includes or is part of at least one of the one or more perforatedmetal sheets 512. The computing device can be configured to drive theheating elements to emit at a peak emission wavelength corresponding toexcitable wavelength for the tray 516. By tuning the peak emissionwavelength to the excitable wavelength of the tray 516, the computingdevice can heat up the tray 516 without directly heating the air or theedible substance inside the chamber 502.

The tray 516 can be made of glass. The tray 516 can include an opticallytransparent region enabling visible light to substantially travelthrough two opposing surfaces of the tray 516. For example, a user ofthe cooking appliance 500 can place an instruction sheet beneath thetray 516 while arranging edible substance on the tray 516 to be cooked.The user can directly overlay specific edible substance at the desiredlocation according to the instruction sheet. The tray 516 can include areflective portion 518 to enable a camera 522 to capture a bottom viewof edible substance resting on the tray 516.

The cooking appliance 500 can include an airflow-based cooling system520. The airflow-based cooling system 520 can blow directly onto areflector portion of the containment vessel 508 to cool (e.g., preventvaporization of the reflective coating) and improve performance of thereflector 511. The airflow can be controlled to provide impingementconvection heating. The airflow-based cooling system 520 can have an airpath that filters steam and thus prevents hot air from escaping when thedoor of the cooking appliance 500 is opened. The air path can also beconfigured to go over a camera (not shown) of the cooking appliance 500to keep the lens of the camera condensation free.

In some embodiments, a fan can be installed away from the filamentassemblies 506. When the peak wavelength of a filament assembly isconfigured to heat the envelope and/or the containment vessel 508, thefan can stir the air within the chamber 502 to ensure that heated airadjacent to the containment vessel 508 is moved to other parts of thechamber 502 to cook the edible substance.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 500 lacks a crumb tray. Forexample, the cooking appliance 500 can use quartz or other heatresistant sheet to cover the heating elements so that the bottom of thecooking appliance chamber has no heating elements to trip over. The heatresistant sheet can be transparent at the operating wavelengths of thefilament assemblies 506 to enable for the emission from the heatingelements to penetrate through without much loss.

In some embodiments, the computing device within the cooking appliance500 can drive the filament assemblies 506 according to instructions in acooking recipe. For example, the computing device can drive at least oneof the filament assemblies 506 at a specific output power and/or peakwavelength. The specific peak wavelength can correspond to excitablewavelengths of the materials in the support tray, the containment vessel508 (e.g., envelope of the filament assembly), a specific type of ediblematerial, water molecules, or any combination thereof. By matching thespecific peak wavelength, the computing device can target specificmaterial for heating. For example, the computing device can drive atleast one of the heating elements at a peak wavelength (e.g., 3 μm orabove for glass trays) such that the support tray is substantiallyopaque to waves emitted from the at least one of the heating elements.The computing device can drive at least one of the heating elements at apeak wavelength (e.g., 3 μm or less for glass trays) such that thesupport tray is substantially transparent to waves emitted from the atleast one of the heating elements. The computing device can drive atleast one of the heating elements at a peak wavelength (e.g., between 3μm and 4 μm for glass trays) such that the support tray is heated bywaves emitted from the at least one of the heating elements withoutheating any organic edible substance in the cooking chamber.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional top view of the cooking appliance 500 ofFIG. 5A along lines A-A′, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG.5B can illustrate the perforated metal sheet 512A and cavities withinthe perforated metal sheet 512A that exposes the tray 516. FIG. 5C is across-sectional top view of the cooking appliance 500 of FIG. 5A alonglines B-B′, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 5C canillustrate the tray 516. In some embodiments, the reflective portion 518is visible through the tray 516. FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional top viewof the cooking appliance 500 of FIG. 5A along lines C-C′, in accordancewith various embodiments. FIG. 5D can illustrate the filament assemblies506. In some embodiments, fans of the airflow-based cooling system 520are under the filament assemblies 506.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view of a second example of a cookingappliance 600, in accordance with various embodiments. This secondexample can illustrate various features in various embodiments of thedisclosed cooking appliance. A particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the second example can beincluded in the first example. All of the described examples havefeatures that are not mutually exclusive from other examples.

For example, the cooking appliance 600 includes heating elements, andtherefore filament assemblies (e.g., a filament assembly 606A, afilament assembly 606B, a filament assembly 606C, and a filamentassembly 606D, collectively as the “filament assemblies 606”). Thefilament assemblies 606 can differ from the filament assemblies 506 inthat an upper set (e.g., the filament assemblies 606A, 606B, and 606C)extends longitudally at a substantially perpendicular angle from a lowerset (e.g., the filament assembly 606D and other filament assemblies notshown). Further unlike the filament assemblies 506, the filamentassemblies 606 are not uniformly spaced apart from each other.

A reflector 611 can be positioned to be spaced apart from each of thefilament assemblies 606. The reflector 611 can be a standalone structureunlike the coating of the reflector 511. The reflector 611 can be spacedwithin a distance from a filament assembly (e.g., therefore a heatingelement) to have anti-fouling characteristics and to vaporize any ediblesubstance debris. The cooking appliance 600 can include a fan 620.Unlike the airflow-based cooling system 520, the fan 620 is notspecifically directed to any of the filament assemblies 606.

A chamber 602 is substantially similar to the chamber 502. Perforatedmetal sheets 612A and 612B are substantially similar to the perforatedmetal sheets 512. A tray 616 is substantially similar to the tray 516,but does not include a reflective portion. The camera 622 issubstantially similar to the camera 522.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a heating system 700 of a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cooking appliance 300), inaccordance with various embodiments. The heating system 700 can includea plurality of heating elements (e.g., a heating element 702A, a heatingelement 702B, etc., collectively the “heating elements 702”) configuredto generate electromagnetic waves. Each heating element is configurableto operate over a range of output power and/or peak wavelengths.

An alternating current (AC) power supply circuit 706 is configured toconvert AC power from an AC power line 710 to direct current (DC) power.The AC power line 710 provides up to a maximum power threshold beforetriggering a circuit breaker. The AC power supply circuit 706 caninclude a power factor correction (PFC) circuit. The AC power supplycircuit 706 can divide an AC power cycle from the AC power line into twohalf waves.

A plurality of switching circuits (e.g., switching circuitry 714A, aswitching circuitry 714B, etc., collectively as the “switching circuitry714”) can respectively correspond to the plurality of heating elements702. The switching circuitry 714 can be TRIAC switches. The DC powerfrom the AC power supply circuit 706 is routed to a heating element whena corresponding switching circuitry is switched on. A control circuit718 is configured to switch on a subset of the plurality of switchingcircuitry 714 such that a total power drawn through the switchingcircuitry is equal to or below the maximum power threshold. The controlcircuit 718 can be configured to switch on a single switching circuit ata time to concentrate the DC power provided via the AC power supply atthe maximum power threshold to a single heating element. The controlcircuit 718 can include a processor (e.g., the computing device 206).The switching circuitry 714 can be configured by the control circuit 718to provide one half wave to a first heating element and another halfwave to a second heating element.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a driver circuit 800 for a heatingelement in a cooking appliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, thecooking appliance 100B, the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cookingappliance 300), in accordance with various embodiments. In variousembodiments, the cooking appliance can have as many instances of thedriver circuit 800 as the number of heating elements it has. The drivercircuit 800 can receive a control signal 802 from a control circuit, aprocessor, and/or a computing device of the cooking appliance. Thecontrol signal 802 is provided to a triode for alternating current(TRIAC) driver 806. The TRIAC driver 806 can be an optocoupler with azero crossing TRIAC driver. The TRIAC driver 806 can control the dimmingratio provided by a TRIAC 810. The TRIAC 810 can draw its power from analternating current (AC) source 814. The AC source 814 can be 120 Hz ACpower. The control circuit/processor/computing device of the cookingappliance can switch the AC source 814 off from the driver circuit 800prior to the driver circuit 800 drawing too much power. The directoutput of the TRIAC 810 is provided as a positive terminal 818A of aheating element corresponding to the driver circuit 800. A negativeterminal 818B of the heating element can be connected to an electricalneutral potential.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 900 of operating the cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cooking appliance 300) to cook afood substance utilizing optical feedback, in accordance with variousembodiments. The method 900 can be controlled by a computing device(e.g., the computing device 206).

At step 901, the computing device captures one or more images in advanceof the cook and determines properties of the food, such as the heightand placement on the cooking tray, through image analysis. The imagesmay also be analyzed to detect potential errors in the meal preparation,such as placing the food on the wrong location of the tray. In step 902,the computing device may (e.g., as necessary to correct user mistakes)interact with the user to correct detected errors, if any, and adjustthe recipe flow as appropriate.

At step 903, the computing device can select a heating recipe from itslocal heating recipe library or from a heating library implemented by acloud service accessible through a network interface (e.g., the networkinterface 226). At step 904, a camera (e.g., the camera 118A or thecamera 118B) inside the cooking appliance can stream images of the foodsubstance to the computing device. For example, the camera can bepointed toward a cooking platform (e.g., the cooking platform 110) ofthe cooking appliance.

At step 906, when the computing device receives an image, the computingdevice can analyze the image, utilizing computer vision techniques, todetermine a state of the food substance, the cooking chamber, or thecooking platform. In some embodiments, the computing device can segmentthe image into portions corresponding to the food substance, portionscorresponding to the cooking platform, and/or portions corresponding tothe cooking chamber. According to the segmentation of the image, thecomputing device can determine separate states for the food substance,the cooking platform, and/or the cooking chamber. The state can be aknown state (e.g., matching a set of potential states specific to theheating recipe or global to cooking operations of the cooking appliancein general) or an unknown state.

In one example, the heating recipe is for cooking a steak. The set ofpotential states specific to the steak cooking recipe can include statescorresponding to different searing levels. In another example, theheating recipe is for making popcorn. The set of potential statesspecific to the popcorn making recipe can include states correspondingto a yet-to-pop state, a popping state, and an all popped state. In yetanother example, the heating recipe is for boiling an egg. The set ofpotential states specific to the egg boiling recipe can include a waterboiling state and a water not boiling state. Global states can include asmoke alarm state (e.g., when there is smoke inside the cooking chamber)or a fire alarm state (e.g., when there is fire inside the cookingchamber or the food substances on fire). An unknown state is an imagethat deviates from all known states, such that it is so unusual that thecomputing device would either stop the operation of the cookingappliance or at least alert the user.

At step 908, the computing device can re-configure the heating elementsor other physical components of the cooking appliance in response to astate change of the food substance, the cooking chamber, and/or thecooking platform. For example, the reconfiguration can include turningoff the heating elements, changing the peak emission frequency of one ormore of the heating elements, changing the output power of one or moreof the heating elements, controlling the cooling system (e.g., thecooling system 220), sending a natural language or media message via thenetwork interface (e.g., network interface 226), displaying a message onthe display (e.g., the display 122A or the display 122B), or anycombination thereof.

At step 910, the computing device can store the state change history ofthe food substance, the cooking chamber, and/or the cooking platform inlocal memory (e.g., the persistent memory 214). In some embodiments, atstep 912, the computing device can generate a media file (e.g., avisualization image or video) illustrating the progress of the heatingrecipe according to the state change history.

Optical Feedback System

The cooking appliance can implement an optical cooking control. Thecooking appliance can use the camera to determine several criticallyimportant parameters prior to or while cooking food matter, whichincludes, but not limited to: food geometry and thickness, surfacetexture changes, level of browning or searing, presence of burn, foodshrinkage, expansion or distortion, seepage of liquids, presence ofsmoke, presence of steam, liquid boiling, or any combination thereof.

Optical feedback control is exceptionally useful for cooking methodswhere the cooking process follows an exponential or non-lineartrajectory. For example, in browning foods, the darker the food, themore heat the food will absorb. This is particularly evident in toastingwhere 2 minutes usually produces a beautiful brown, but 2 minutes 30seconds would burn the toast. Optical feedback would enable the toast tobe browned perfectly every time.

Additionally, for sequential cooking sessions where the cooking devicehas already been preheated by the previous cooking session, opticalcontrol of browning is even more important because it is difficult toprogrammatically calculate how much heating the already-warm cookingdevice body will impart to the food matter.

Besides optical feedback control, the 3D geometry of the food matter canalso be determined by the camera. It can be obtained by adding anadditional camera where stereoscopic vision can be used to determine the3D geometry or by adding another structured light source such that apredetermined light pattern is projected onto the food matter so thatthe 3D structure of the food matter can be deduced by the distortion ofthe light pattern.

It is also possible to determine food geometry by using only a singlecamera because the cooking device cavity is well controlled. However,for food with very little contrast or visible edges, determining theprecise 3D structure using a single camera can be more challenging. Inthese cases, different lighting sources, different camera filters andsensors can be simultaneously used to improve the three-dimensionalresolution. The 3D geometry is useful in several ways: the cookingsequence can be optimized based on the thickness of the food matter inquestion. The 3D geometry can also help in generating a preview of theresult of a browning or searing session.

In several embodiments, the computing device can implement variousmechanisms to facilitate programming process of developers who intend tobuild virtual heating recipes for the cooking appliance, where thevirtual heating recipes include use of optical feedback control. Theoptical properties of the food can be determined by a camera library,which then translates the state of the food into easily applicableapplication programming interfaces (APIs). In one example, the controlof searing or browning can be programmatically divided into 10 segments:zero being not browned at all, and 10 being black. The camera can usethe initial shade of the food to calibrate this browning scale to be thevalue zero. Based on the type of food, browning level of 10 can becomputed. While the food is being cooked, the camera can compare theinitial browning level with the current browning level to compute thecurrent browning level presented in the API.

Additionally, in cooking processes where there are nonlinear changes,the optical feedback library can further use that nonlinear change tocalibrate its browning scale. For example, in foods where a crust canform from baking, formation of the crust can be calibrated to a level 7,for example.

In another example, presence of steam emanating from the food orpresence of bubbles indicates that the surface temperature of the foodhas reached 100° C. This information combined with cooking equipmenttemperature, other optical information mentioned above and timing can beused to model the interior temperature for the food and/or the state ofthe cooking process.

FIG. 10A is an example of a perspective view of an interior chamber 1002of a cooking appliance 1000A (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, thecooking appliance 100B, the cooking appliance 200, and/or the cookingappliance 300), in accordance with various embodiments. The interiorchamber 1002 can include a connection interface 1006A to receive signalsfrom a temperature probe 1010 (e.g., the temperature probe 1100). Ridges(not shown) of the interior chamber 1002 are adapted to receive andsupport a food tray 1014. The food tray 1014, in turn, supports ediblesubstance 1018. The temperature probe 1010 is inserted into the ediblesubstance 1018 to take temperature readings of the edible substance1018. For example, the temperature probe can be a multipoint temperatureprobe sending multiple streams (e.g., respectively corresponding topoints along the length of the temperature probe) of temperaturereadings to a computing device (e.g., the computing device 206) in orcoupled to the cooking appliance 1000A.

FIG. 10B is another example of a perspective view of the interiorchamber 1002 of a cooking appliance 1000B (e.g., the cooking appliance100A, the cooking appliance 100B, the cooking appliance 200, and/or thecooking appliance 300), in accordance with various embodiments.Hereinafter, the “connection interface 1006” can refer to connectioninterface 1006A or the connection interface 1006B. In severalembodiments, the connection interface 1006 is adapted to receive one ormore analog signals corresponding to the temperature readings. Theconnection interface 1006 can be adapted to establish an electricalconnection, an inductive coupling connection, a capacitive couplingconnection, or any combination thereof, to the food tray 1014 (as shownin FIG. 10A) or to the temperature probe 1010 (as shown in FIG. 10B).The computing device of the cooking appliance 1000B can receive one ormore continuous feeds of temperature readings from the temperature probe1010 via the connection interface 1006B. In these embodiments, thecomputing device can determine the temperature readings byanalyzing/decoding the analog signals. In response to changes to thetemperature readings from the continuous feeds, the computing device canexecute a heat adjustment algorithm that is dynamically controlled bythe computing device. Each time the cooking appliance is used, the usercan select a heating recipe corresponding to a cooking recipe. Theheating recipe can specify the heat adjustment algorithm for thecomputing device to execute.

In several embodiments, the computing device is configured to detect acenter of the edible substance 1018 such that the computing device canaccurately assign a stream of temperature readings as corresponding tothe center of the edible substance 1018. This enables the computingdevice to monitor the temperature gradients at different portions of theedible substance 1018 and thus enables precise cooking methodologies. Inone example, the computing device can detect the center of the ediblesubstance based on user input of an insertion angle and/or an insertiondepth of the temperature probe 1010 and/or the temperature readings fromthe continuous feeds. In another example, the exertion angle and/or theinsertion depth of the temperature probe 1010 is specified by theheating recipe. In some embodiments, a display of the cooking appliancecan present the insertion angle and the insertion depth to the user tohave the user insert, according to those specifications, the temperatureprobe 1010 into the edible substance 1018.

In several embodiments, the connection interface 1006 is configured tomechanically couple to a portion of the food tray 1014 and tocommunicate with a relay interface 1030 of the food tray 1014. The foodtray 1014 can be a removable component of the cooking appliance 1000Aand/or 1000B. The food tray 1014 can mechanically attach to at least aportion of the temperature probe 1010 and to receive temperature readingsignals from the temperature probe 1010. In some embodiments, theconnection interface 1006 can provide electrical power to the food tray1014, which can be relayed to the temperature probe 1010. Thetemperature probe 1010 can be a removable component that convenientlydetaches and/or re-attaches to the food tray. In one example, theconnection interface 1006 includes a magnet or a magnetizable material(e.g., ferromagnetic material) to mechanically couple with a portion ofthe food tray 1014. In other examples, the connection interface 1006includes a click-in mechanism, a button, a pin, a hook, a clip, or anycombination thereof, to removably attach to the food tray 1014. Therelay interface 1030 can include a magnet or a magnetizable material(e.g., ferromagnetic material) to mechanically couple with a portion ofthe connection interface 1006 and/or a portion of the temperature probe1010. In other examples, the relay interface 1030 includes a click-inmechanism, a button, a pin, a hook, a clip, or any combination thereof,to removably attach to a portion of the connection interface 1006 and/ora portion of the temperature probe 1010. In some embodiments, the relayinterface 1030 includes at least two portions. One portion of the relayinterface 1030 can couple (e.g., mechanically and/or electrically) tothe temperature probe 1010. One portion of the relay interface 1030 cancouple (e.g., mechanically and/or electrically) to the connectioninterface 1006.

In several embodiments, the cooking appliance 1000A and/or 1000Bincludes a power supply (e.g., power source 202). The power supply cansupply power to a removable accessory of the cooking appliance bymodulating an alternating current (AC) through the interior chamber1002. A wall in the interior chamber 1002 can be electricallyconductive, acting as a single conductor wire. The food tray 1014 canalso be electrically conductive. Hence, the supplied power from thepower supply can transfer to any component (e.g., the temperature probe1010) in electrical contact with the food tray 1014. The temperatureprobe 1010 can extract (e.g., harvest) power from the power supply byharvesting power from capacitive coupling to the AC current through theconductive chamber wall and the food tray 1014. In turn, the temperatureprobe 1010 can utilize the harvested power to generate a wiredelectrical signal, an audio signal, a radiofrequency signal, aninductive coupling signal, and/or a capacitive coupling signal to theconnection interface 1006. For example, the signal can be generatedusing one or more passive electronic components that produce differentsignals in response to receiving electrical power at differenttemperature ranges.

FIG. 11A is an example of a temperature probe 1100 that monitorstemperatures inside edible substance (e.g., the edible substance 1018)to provide temperature feedback to a cooking appliance, in accordancewith various embodiments. The temperature probe 1100 includes a probebody 1102 and a cable 1106 attached to the probe body 1102. FIG. 11B isa cross-sectional view of the cable 1106 (along line 6B) of thetemperature probe 1100 of FIG. 11A.

Regarding FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the cable 1106 can include a sheath1110, an insulation layer 1114, and an inner wire 1118. For example, thesheath 1110 can be a metal braided sheath (e.g., an iron braided sheathor a steel braided sheath). In another example, the sheath 1110 is aheat resistant polyamine-based sheath or a polyamide sheath. Theinsulation layer 1114 can be a heat resistant insulation between theinner wire 1118 and the sheath 1110. The heat resistant insulation cancomprise a metal oxide powder (e.g., magnesium oxide powder), silicon,glass fiber, or any combination thereof.

The cable 1106 is configured to communicate temperature readings fromtemperature sensing elements 1122 along the probe body 1102. In someembodiments, the cable 1106 can also deliver power to the temperaturesensing elements 1122. The temperature sensing elements 1122 areconfigured to measure the temperature readings and communicate thetemperature readings via the cable in analog signal form. In someembodiments, the probe body 1102 includes markings, etchings or othervisible indicia allowing for measurement of the food height and/orinsertion depth of the probe body 1102. For example, the markings mayinclude locations of the temperature sensing elements 1122, tick marksfor a ruler (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 12A-B), and/or otherinsertion and measurements aids. In some embodiments, a computer visionsystem may capture an image of a temperature probe inserted into anedible substance and determine from the captured image (including byanalyzing the probe markings that are visible in the captured image) oneor more food properties (e.g., food height) and/or verify whether theprobe has been properly inserted.

In some embodiments, the temperature probe 1100 includes a wirelesscommunication device 1126. For example, the wireless communicationdevice 1126 can generate a radiofrequency (RF) signal, an inductivecoupling signal, a capacitive coupling signal, an audio or vibratorysignal, an optical signal, or any combination thereof. The cable 1106 isconfigured to provide power to the wireless communication device 1126.

In some embodiments, the temperature probe 1100 includes a trayattachment mechanism 1130 coupled to an end of the cable 1106 oppositefrom the probe body 1102. The tray attachment mechanism 1130 can beremovably attachable to a tray of a cooking appliance. In someembodiments, the tray attachment mechanism 1130 is adapted toelectrically couple to at least a portion of the tray (e.g., tocommunicate or to receive power). In some embodiments, the trayattachment mechanism 1130 includes a capacitive coupler (e.g., antenna)or an inductive coupler (e.g., coil) to facilitate one or more forms ofnear field communication. The tray attachment mechanism 1130 can be ablock designed to fit at least partially into the tray or design to fitaround a protrusion of the tray. The tray attachment mechanism 1130 caninclude a temperature resistant magnet or a magnetizable metal (e.g.,ferromagnetic material). The tray attachment mechanism 1130 can includea clip, a hook, a click in button, a clamp, an anchor, or anycombination thereof, for attachment or mechanical coupling.

In several embodiments, the temperature probe 1100 includes an insertionaid 1136 (e.g., a disc, a truncated prism, a cylinder, etc.). Theinsertion aid 1136 can surround the probe body 1102. In severalembodiments, the insertion aid 1136 can slide along the probe body 1102to adjust the depth of insertion. In some embodiments, the insertion aid1136 may have holes or hallowed out portions to reduce the weight of theinsertion aid 1136. The insertion aid 1136, the probe body 1102, thetemperature sensing elements 1122, and/or other components of thetemperature probe 1100 can be heat resistant. For example, thesecomponents can comprise or consist one or more heat resistant materialscapable of withstanding temperatures below 900 to 1000 Fahrenheit. Inanother example, these components can comprise or consist one or moreheat resistant materials capable of withstanding temperatures below 1000Fahrenheit. In some embodiments, the insertion aid 1136 includes atleast one insertion angle reference that enables a user to determinewhether the probe body is inserted at a known angle. In someembodiments, the insertion aid includes at least one insertion depthreference that enable a user to determine how deep the probe body 1102is inserted into an edible substance or a depth (e.g., thickness) of atop surface of the edible substance when the probe body is inserted allthe way through the edible substance. The insertion aid 1136 can includea stopper structure (e.g., a disc structure) surrounding the probe bodyand adjacent to the handle. The stopper structure can prevent thetemperature probe 1100 from being inserted beyond a certain depth.

In some embodiments, the probe body 1102 includes a handle 1140 on anend opposite from a sharp end 1146. In some embodiments, the probe body1102 is length adjustable.

FIG. 12A is an example of a side view of a probe and tray connection, inaccordance with various embodiments. A temperature probe 1200 includes aprobe body 1202, a depth setting aid 1206, a handle 1210, a cable 1214,and a connector 1218. The temperature probe 1200 can be coupled to atray 1204. The probe body 1202 can be made from a rigid material, andmay include visible indicia 1224 allowing for measurement of food itemsand providing additional guides for setting and/or measuring insertiondepth. In some embodiments, a computer vision system captures one ormore images of the inserted probe and estimates a food height, insertiondepth and angle, and other properties using one or more of knowndimensions of the probe and the visible indicia 1224. The depth settingaid 1206 can be adapted to slide along the probe body 1202. The handle1210 can be fixated to one end of the probe body 1202 across from a foodpenetrating end (e.g., sharp end). The cable 1214 can be coupled to(e.g., mechanically couple to and/or electrically couple to) the probebody 1202. The cable 1214 can be electrically coupled to heat sensingelements along the probe body 1202. In some embodiments, the cable 1214is detachable from the probe body 1202.

In some embodiments, the cable 1214 includes magnetic material,ferromagnetic material, magnetizable material, ferrous material, or anycombination thereof. This enables the cable 1214 to be organized (e.g.,magnetically attracted according to a pattern) by magnets embedded inthe tray 1204. In some embodiments, the cable 1214 includes deformablematerial (e.g., deformable metal) such that the cable 1214 can hold itsshape. In some embodiments, the cable 1214 or the tray 1204 can includeclipping mechanisms to clip the cable 1214 to the tray 1204. Theconnector 1218 can detachably couple with a mating connector 1222 of thetray 1204.

FIG. 12B is an example of a top view of the probe and tray connection,in accordance with various embodiments. The tray 1204 can includemagnets 1230. The magnets can be embedded along an edge of the tray 1204to hold the cable 1214 against the edge of the tray 1204. Optionally,the tray 1204 can also include a clip 1234 to hold the cable 1214.

FIG. 13 is an example of a front view of a temperature probe connector1300 (e.g., the connector 1218), in accordance with various embodiments.The temperature probe connector 1300 can include multiple electricalconductor pads (e.g., a pad 1302A, a pad 1302B, a pad 1302C, and a pad1302D, collectively as the “electrical conductor pads 1302”) surroundedby a ferrous ring 1306. The ferrous ring 1306 in turn is surrounded by agasket 1310. The gasket 1310 can be surrounded by a protective shell1314.

FIG. 14 is an example of a front view of a mating connector 1400 (e.g.,the mating connector 1222) corresponding to the temperature probeconnector of FIG. 13, in accordance with various embodiments. The matingconnector 1400 can include multiple contact springs (e.g., a contactspring 1402A, a contact spring 1402B, a contact spring 1402C, and acontact spring 1402D, collectively as the “contact springs 1402”) withina recess or boss 1406 to accept a probe connector (e.g., the temperatureprobe connector 1300).

The temperature probe connector 1300 and the mating connector 1400 canbe adapted to magnetically couple. For example, one of the connectorscan include a magnet, while the other connector includes a ferrous(e.g., ferromagnetic) material that is magnetizable. The magneticcoupling mechanisms of the tray 1204 and the temperature probe 1200enables convenient mechanical coupling of the wiring. For example, whenthe assembled food and the temperature probe 1200 is pushed into thecooking appliance, the connector 1218 and/or the cable 1214 that arepartly dangling can snap into place automatically.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, the cooking appliance 300, the cookingappliance 1000A and/or the cooking appliance 1000B) to cook a foodsubstance utilizing temperature feedback, in accordance with variousembodiments. At step 1502, a computing device in the cooking applianceidentifies a cooking recipe in a computer memory. The cooking recipe canspecify a heat adjustment algorithm.

At step 1504, the computing device can receive analog feeds thatrespectively correspond to sensors along a length of a temperature probeinserted into an edible substance. At step 1506, the computing devicecan compute temperature readings from the analog feeds. In parallel to,before, or after step 1506, the computing device can determine, at step1508, which of the analog feeds corresponds to a center of the ediblesubstance. At step 1510, the computing device can execute a heatadjustment algorithm by dynamically controlling and/or adjusting heatingelements in the cooking appliance in response to changes to thetemperature readings relative to the center of the edible substance.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, the cooking appliance 300, the cookingappliance 1000A and/or the cooking appliance 1000B) to cook an ediblesubstance evenly, in accordance with various embodiments. At step 1602,the cooking appliance can identify a food profile of the ediblesubstance from a database. For example, the cooking appliance canidentify the food profile by scanning (e.g., optically scanning ornear-field-based) a packaging of the edible substance prior to startingto heat (e.g., searing and/or roasting) the edible substance. Foranother example, the cooking appliance can identify the food profile byreceiving a user indication of the food profile via an interactive userinterface. The interactive user interface can be implemented on atouchscreen of the cooking appliance. The interactive user interface canbe implemented on a mobile device (e.g., smart phone or electronictablet) having a network connection with the cooking appliance.

At step 1604, a computing device (e.g., a processor or a controller) ofthe cooking appliance can instantiate a heat adjustment algorithm basedon a cooking recipe from a database. For example, the computing devicecan identify one or more cooking recipes associated with the foodprofile and display the cooking recipes for user selection. Thecomputing device can then receive a user selection of at least one ofthe cooking recipes. The computing device can instantiate the heatadjustment algorithm based on the selected cooking recipe. In oneexample, the selected cooking recipe includes a searing step.

At step 1606, the cooking appliance can monitor, via an optical sensor,a surface of an edible substance in a cooking chamber. At step 1608, thecooking appliance can sear, via at least a first heating elementcontrolled by the computing device, the edible substance utilizingoptical feedback control based on the monitoring of the surface of theedible substance. For example, the computing device can set the cookingappliance to sear by tuning a peak emission wavelength of the firstheating element. For example, the heating concentration of longer peakemission wavelengths can penetrate the edible substance more.Accordingly, when searing, the computing device can shorten the peakemission wavelength of the heating elements. When searing,higher-frequency and shorter peak emission wavelength is used. Theradiant heat transfer efficiency during the searing operation can bemore than 20 times the radiant heat transfer efficiency of an ovenrunning at conventional filament temperatures (e.g., a conventionalnichrome oven). At this much higher radiant heat transfer efficiency,various parts of the edible substance may not ever reach a balancedthermal equilibrium (e.g., radiant heat is added to the surface of theedible substance at a faster pace than the heat being thermallyconducted away into the inner parts of the edible substance). Hence, theinner parts of the edible substance do not completely act as a heat sinkfor the surface of the edible substance. As a result, when searing thesurface of the edible substance, the internal parts of the ediblesubstance are also roasted.

At step 1610, the cooking appliance can determine a depth center of theedible substance via a multi-point temperature probe in communicationwith the computing device. At step 1612, the cooking appliance canroast, via at least a second heating element controlled by the computingdevice, the edible substance in the cooking chamber after the searingstep is complete (e.g., according to optical feedback). The firstheating element and the second heating element can be the same heatingelement or different heating elements. Each of the heating elements caninclude one or more filament assemblies capable of adjusting their peakemission wavelengths. For example, the computing device can set thecooking appliance to roast by tuning a peak emission wavelength of thesecond heating element.

When roasting, the computing device can configure the peak emissionwavelength of the second heating element to correspond with apenetration depth through the edible substance to the determined depthcenter. The computing device can proportionally adjust the peak emissionwavelength to a level that corresponds to the penetration depth. Thefood profile identified in step 1602 can specify a depth adjustmentfunction. The depth adjustment function can map penetration depths topeak emission wavelengths. The computing device can thus proportionallyadjust the peak emission wavelength to correspond to the penetrationdepth according to the food profile/depth adjustment function.

The computing device can operate the heating elements differently whenroasting versus when searing. In some embodiments, when roasting, thecomputing device drives (e.g., sending a control command to a driver) afilament assembly of the second heating element to emit at a peakemission wavelength longer (e.g., lower peak emission frequency) thanwhen searing the edible substance. In some embodiments, when roasting,the computing device drives a filament assembly of the second heatingelement at a higher power than when searing the edible substance. Whenroasting, the peak emission wavelength is longer, the radiated power islower, and the radiant heat transfer efficiency is lower than whensearing. This enables the roasting operation to cook the inner parts ofthe edible substance without affecting the surface of the ediblesubstance. For example, this can be partly because the edible substancereaches equilibrium quicker since the surface heat of the ediblesubstance is quickly conducted to the center of the edible substance.

While roasting, the computing device can tune the power driving theheating elements (e.g., the second heating element) based on temperaturefeedback control from a temperature probe inserted into the ediblesubstance. The temperature probe can be in communication with thecomputing device. For example, the computing device can monitortemperature readings from the temperature probe via an electrical wireconnection, a radiofrequency (RF) wireless connection, or a near fieldinductive or capacitive coupling connection with the temperature probe.

In various embodiments of the method 1600, the cooking appliance sears(e.g., surface cooking utilizing high-power) before roasting. Forexample, roasting is performed with less power. In some embodiments,there are four large cooking areas with multiple heating elements. Dueto power limitation, it may be impractical to use all heating elementsat max power or shortest wavelength when searing. For example, thecooking appliance can have three heating elements on the top portion ofits inner chamber. The cooking appliance can run the heating elements onthe top portion sequentially to sear (e.g., to overcome the powerlimitation). When roasting, the cooking appliance can drive the heatingelements at lower power sequentially, or running all heating elements orall top portion heating elements at the same time, all which have alower filament temperature with longer wavelength as compared to whensearing.

Generally, driving heating elements to emit longer wavelengths cause theemitted power to penetrate deeper into food. However, thermal gradientof the food can contribute to penetration as well. Very hot surface cancause a relatively sharp temperature gradient from the surface to thecenter of the food. A relatively lower temperature can have even heatingfrom all sides of the food, similar to how blackbody radiation can causea lower/smoother temperature gradient.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 of operating a cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B,the cooking appliance 200, the cooking appliance 300, the cookingappliance 1000A, and/or the cooking appliance 1000B) to cook an ediblesubstance in different modes, in accordance with various embodiments. Atstep 1702, a computing device of the cooking appliance can be configuredto execute a heat adjustment algorithm/process based on a cooking recipethat specifies driving logic for operating one or more heating elementsof the cooking appliance (e.g., see steps 1602 and 1604).

For example, the cooking recipe can specify which of the heatingelements to turn on (e.g., controlling the directionality of heating.For example, the cooking recipe can dictate that heating elements frombelow a tray are turned on and heating elements from above the tray areturned off. In this example, the cooking appliance can be simulating arange top. The cooking appliance can heat up the edible substance in anumber of ways. The cooking appliance can be configured to heat theedible substance directly. The cooking appliance can be configured toheat its internal chamber (e.g., its chamber walls and its tray) and letits internal chamber absorb and re-emit energy to heat the ediblesubstance. The cooking appliance can be configured to heat the internalchamber and the edible substance simultaneously. The heated air in theinternal chamber can also heat up the edible substance. The cookingappliance can further be configured to provide airflow of heated air tocook the food as an impingement convection oven. At a lower airflowspeed, the cooking appliance can be configured as a regular convectionoven.

Because items (e.g., the edible substance, the air, the chamber walls,and the tray) inside the cooking appliance may each have one or moreexcitable wavelengths, by controlling the peak emission wavelengths ofthe heating elements, the computing device can specifically targetdifferent items to heat up. Because an item can have multiple excitablewavelengths, the computing device can select different peak emissionwavelengths to control the cooking speed/efficiency provided by theheating elements.

When initially heating up any cooking appliance to a proper operatingtemperature, such cooking appliance may attempt to draw too much power.Accordingly, the disclosed cooking appliance can include a choke circuitthat caps the power drawn to be within the limit of typical circuitbreakers. For example, typical circuit breakers can tolerate suddenlarge surges, but not a relatively consistent draw above 1800 Watt). Thechoke circuit can cause the cooking appliance to warm up slowerinitially to prevent blowing a fuse in a circuit breaker.

At step 1704, the computing device can configure the heat adjustmentalgorithm to operate according to either a low-stress mode or a highspeed mode. At step 1706, the computing device can monitor one or morefeedback control signals from one or more sensors of the cookingappliance. For example, the feedback control signals can include atemperature reading signal from a temperature probe, an optical feedbacksignal from an optical sensor (e.g., a camera), or a combinationthereof.

At step 1708, the computing device can drive the one or more heatingelements to cook the edible substance based on the cooking recipe andwhether the cooking recipe is configured to operate in the low-stressmode or the high speed mode. In some embodiments, the computing devicecan drive the one or more heating elements further based on the feedbackcontrol signals. In some embodiments, the computing device can calculatea projection (e.g., heating trajectory) of when to complete cooking andturn off the heating elements. In some embodiments, the control of theheating elements is dynamic (e.g., based on feedback control signalsfrom the temperature probe or from the camera), and hence completiontime is not yet known.

At step 1710, the computing device can turn off power to the heatingelements. At step 1712, the computing device can determine when topresent a completion indicator of the heat adjustment algorithmaccording to whether the cooking recipe is configured to be in thelow-stress mode or the high speed mode. In some embodiments, thecomputing device can determine when to present the completion indicatorbased on the feedback control signals (e.g., when the searing is“visually” done according to an optical sensor or when the ediblesubstance has reached a certain temperature for a certain period oftime).

The high speed mode requires extraction of the edible substance from thecooking appliance when the completion indicator is presented (e.g.,otherwise the edible substance will overcook). The low-stress modeallows for the extraction to occur within a preset time range (e.g.,from immediately to within 30 minutes or from immediately to within twoto three hours).

In some embodiments, under the high speed mode, the cooking appliancecan present the completion indicator when the computing device turns offthe power to the heating elements. In some embodiments, under thelow-stress mode, the computing device can present the completionindicator a certain amount of time after the computing device turns offthe power to the heating elements. For example, after the power to theheating elements is turned off, the tray and/or the chamber walls of thecooking appliance remain as sources of re-emitted energy. The internalair is also still at a high temperature. Under the low-stress mode, thecomputing device can simulate the re-emission of energy from theinternal chamber and the hot air using a computerized model tocompute/predict the heating trajectory of the edible substance. Thecomputing device can present the completion indicator once the heatingtrajectory has reached a point where the re-emission of energy from theinternal chamber has died down sufficiently and the hot air has cooledsuch that they do not cause the edible substance to be overcooked or gostale even if the edible substance remains in the chamber for a presetrange of time.

While processes or methods are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to providealternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may beimplemented in a variety of different ways. In addition, while processesor blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, theseprocesses or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may beperformed at different times. When a process or step is “based on” avalue or a computation, the process or step should be interpreted asbased at least on that value or that computation.

FIG. 18 is a system environment of a cloud-based recipe store, inaccordance with various embodiments. A server system 1800 can implementthe cloud-based recipe store. The server system 1800 can be accessiblevia a wide area network (WAN) 1804, such as the Internet. A local areanetwork (LAN) 1808 can be connected to the WAN 1804. A cooking appliance1819 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A, the cooking appliance 100B) canestablish a network connection to the LAN 1808, and via the LAN 1808 tothe WAN 1804. In some embodiments, a mobile device 1816 can be connectedto the cooking appliance 1819 via the LAN 1808 or a peer to peerconnection (e.g., Bluetooth). In some embodiments, the mobile device1816 is connected to the LAN 1808. In some embodiments, the LAN 1808 canbe established by an access point, a router, the mobile device 1816, orother network equipment (not shown).

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a server system 1900 (e.g., the serversystem 1800) that implements a cloud-based recipe store, in accordancewith various embodiments. The server system 1900 can include a recipestore 1902, a recipe distribution interface 1904, a recipe designinterface 1906, a recipe execution simulator 1910, a food profiledatabase 1914, a user profile database 1915, an instrument profile store1916, a meal kit profile database 1918, a template database 1922, or anycombination thereof. The recipe store 1902 stores one or more cookingrecipes. Each of the cooking recipes can include one or more heatinglogic (e.g., heat adjustment algorithms). The recipe distributioninterface 1904 can present and provide the content of the recipe store1902 via a web interface or an application programming interface (API)for external devices to download. For example, a cooking appliance(e.g., the cooking appliance 100A and/or the cooking appliance 100B) canaccess the recipe distribution interface 1904 over a wide-area network(e.g., the WAN 1804). In at least one example, a user can download acooking recipe onto a mobile device and then transfer the cooking recipeto the cooking appliance. In at least one example, a user of the cookingappliance can download a cooking recipe directly into the cookingappliance. In various embodiments, the user profile database 1915 storesuser-specific information to facilitate various operations describedherein, including storing user preferences, user device identifiers, theuser's cooking history, user created recipes, stored recipes and/orother user information.

In various embodiments, the server system 1900 provides the recipedesign interface 1906 to facilitate the design of the cooking recipes inthe recipe store 1902. When designing a cooking recipe, the recipedesigner can access the template database 1922 to copy a cooking recipetemplate or a heating logic template into the cooking recipe. The serversystem 1900 can provide the recipe execution simulator 1910 to simulatethe cooking recipe from the recipe designer. The server system 1900 cangenerate one or more visuals (e.g., videos, charts, graphs, combinationsthereof, etc.) to depict the transformation of a food targetcorresponding to the cooking recipe. The server system 1900 can presentthe simulated transformation represented by the visual via the recipedesign interface 1906. The simulation can result in a visual simulationand/or a temperature gradient simulation. The simulation can access afood profile database 1914 to determine how a unit amount of target food(e.g., referred to as a “food target”) transforms visually in responseto ambient or internal temperature change. The food profile database1914 can also specify heating capacitance and conductancecharacteristics of a unit amount of target food to facilitate thesimulation. The recipe execution simulator 1910 can thus providefeedback to the recipe designer to ensure that the cooking recipe canwork as intended in a cooking appliance.

The instrument profile store 1916 can store specifications of multipleversions or embodiments of the disclosed cooking appliance. In someembodiments, the designer can select from the instrument profile store1916 to determine which version/embodiment of the disclosed cookingappliance can work with the specified cooking recipe. In someembodiments, the recipe execution simulator 1910 can run the simulationbased on one of the version/embodiment in the instrument profile store1916.

The meal kit profile database 1918 can store package identifiers of oneor more known meal kits/food packages. In some embodiments, logic of thecooking recipe can refer to one or more of the package identifiers. Thisenables the designer to specify a change of tactic/logic based on acooking appliance's recognition of a package identifier. In variousembodiments, the database can include more detailed info about the mealkits, including physical properties (height/weight/dimension), exacttype of food (e.g. species of fish), source of food (e.g. ranch wherebeef originated), etc.

FIG. 20 is a control flow diagram illustrating an example of a cookingrecipe 2000, in accordance with various embodiments. The cooking recipe2000 can be a set of instructions (e.g., electronic and/orcomputer-readable instructions) adapted to configure a cooking applianceto process a target food type. A cooking appliance (e.g., the cookingappliance 100A and/or the cooking appliance 100B) can download thecooking recipe 2000 from a server system (e.g., the server system 1900)and execute the cooking recipe 2000. The cooking recipe 2000 can includea heating logic (e.g., a heat adjustment algorithm) and instructions toconfigure the heating logic. For example, at step 2002, the cookingappliance can initialize the cooking recipe 2000. At step 2006, thecooking appliance determines whether it recognizes a meal package (e.g.,the cooking appliance can utilize its camera to scan for a packageidentifier or prompt a user of the cooking appliance to enter a packageidentifier). At step 2010, responsive to recognizing the meal package(e.g., a package corresponding to an entry in the meal kit profiledatabase 1918), the cooking appliance configures a set of heating logicpreset parameters corresponding to the recognized package identifier.For example, the cooking appliance can access (e.g., locally or over anetwork) a meal kit profile database to identify the corresponding setof heating logic preset parameters. In this example, regardless ofwhether the meal package is recognized, the cooking appliance canproceed to step 2014.

At step 2014, the cooking appliance selects an operational mode that auser of the cooking appliance prefers and makes other user-specificadjustment as appropriate. For example, the cooking appliance can promptthe user to enter a mode selection via its touchscreen, its one or morebuttons, or a mobile device connected to the cooking appliance. At step2018, responsive to selecting a first mode (e.g., the low stress mode),the cooking appliance can prompt for (e.g., the user) and receiveheating logic user parameters relevant to the first mode. Similarly, atstep 2022, responsive to selecting a second mode (e.g., the high speedmode), the cooking appliance can prompt for and receive heating logicuser parameters relevant to the second mode. When the first mode isselected, the cooking appliance can execute, at step 2026, heatadjustment algorithm/heating logic of the cooking recipe 2000 associatedwith the first mode (e.g., referred to as “heating logic A”). When thesecond mode is selected, the cooking appliance can execute, at step2030, heat adjustment algorithm/heating logic of the cooking recipe 2000associated with the second mode (e.g., referred to as “heating logicB”).

The heating logic A can be a function of the heating logic userparameters specified at step 2018, the heating logic preset parametersat step 2010 (if any), one or more sensor feeds, a timer, one or moreuser signals, or any combination thereof. Similarly, the heating logic Bcan be a function of the heating logic user parameters specify at step2022, the heating logic reset parameters at step 2010 (if any), one ormore sensor feeds, a timer, one or more user signals or any combinationthereof.

In some embodiments, a state machine can represent a heating logicsequence. For example, the cooking recipe can include multiple heatinglogic sequences. At least some of the heating logic sequences can bealternatives of each another. For example, the cooking recipe 2000 candictate the basic settings of the state machine. State machine can befurther configured by the heating logic preset parameters and/or theheating logic user parameters. Based on these settings, the statemachine can configure components of the cooking appliance differentlyaccording to a current state of operation. For example, the statemachine can specify heating element configuration (e.g., of one or moreheating elements) based on the current state of operation. The sensorfeeds, the timer, and/or the user signals of the cooking appliance canbe the input signals to the state machine. A heating logic sequence candictate whether changes to the input signals can change the currentstate of operation. The cooking recipe 2000 can specify heating elementconfiguration (e.g., of one or more heating elements) based on thecurrent state of operation. In some embodiments, one of the states is atermination state. Once a termination state is reached, the cookingappliance can notify (e.g., via an output component) a user that thecontent in the cooking appliance is ready.

When designing a cooking recipe, the designer can block access to any ofthe above steps. For example, the designer can skip step 2014 and forcesa cooking appliance to operate only in the low stress mode or only inthe high speed mode.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2100 of operating aserver system (e.g., the server system 1900) that implements acloud-based recipe store, in accordance with various embodiments. Atstep 2102, the server system can generate a recipe design interface(e.g., the recipe design interface 1906) configured to facilitate designof a cooking recipe for deployment in a cooking appliance (e.g., thecooking appliance 100A and/or the cooking appliance 100B). In someembodiments, the recipe design interface has an integrated developerenvironment (IDE) for inputting the heating logic. The IDE can enforce aformat convention for specifying the heating logic. The recipe designinterface can provide access to a recipe execution simulator (e.g., therecipe execution simulator 1910). The recipe execution simulator cancompute a simulation of the cooking recipe against a known food profile(e.g., from the food profile database 1914). For example, the simulationcan include a visual depiction (e.g., a chart or a graph) of a foodtarget undergoing transformation according to the heating logic and/or avisual depiction of temperature progression of the food target or partsof the cooking appliance. The recipe execution simulator can thenpresent the simulation via the recipe design interface. The known foodprofile can specify how a food target transforms visually in response toambient or internal temperature change, and the heat capacity andconductance characteristics of a unit amount of the food target.

The recipe design interface can provide access to one or more heatinglogic templates (e.g., in the template database 1922). A heating logictemplate can be configurable as the heating logic. A heating logictemplate can be inheritable. For example, when the heating logicinherits from the heating logic template, the heating logic template canserve as a basis for the heating logic that prompts the designer tofill-in subroutines required by the heating logic template. For example,a heating logic template can provide the basic logic to emulate aconventional cooking appliance (e.g., a range, a grill, a nichrome oven,etc.), and allow a designer to specify parameters intended for theconventional cooking appliance. The heating logic template can thentranslate the parameters intended for the conventional cooking applianceinto heating element configurations for one of the disclosed cookingappliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A and/or the cooking appliance100B). A heating logic template can be imported into the heating logicas a subroutine of the heating logic.

At step 2104, the server system can receive one or more configurationparameters of the cooking recipe via the recipe design interface. Thecooking recipe can include one or more heating logic sequences. Forexample, a heating logic sequence can be represented as a state machine(e.g., deterministic finite automaton or a workflow). The state machinecan be defined by at least an initial state, a completion state, a statetransition function, an output function, an input symbol set (e.g.,possible inputs), and an output symbol set (e.g., possible outputs). Inone example, an input can be a sensor feed value within a preset range.In another example, an output can be a filament driver parameterassociated with a heating element for configuring the heating elementafter transitioning into a specific state of operation.

The configuration parameters can include an available state in the statemachine. The configuration parameters can include a user instructionassociated with the state. The user instruction is configured to bedisplayed in the cooking appliance or a mobile device connected to thecooking appliance. The configuration parameters can include a heatingelement configuration associated with the state. In some examples, theheating element configuration is specified as a filament driverparameter (e.g., wavelength, amplitude, signal pattern, power, dutycycle, etc.) and a heating element selection (e.g., which heatingelement to use). In some examples, the heating element configuration isspecified as a target temperature, a target spatial region (e.g.,cooking depth and position relative to a chamber of the cookingappliance), a target material (e.g., food, tray, chamber wall,perforated sheet, or air), an instrument emulation mode, or anycombination thereof.

The configuration parameters can also specify a state change conditionassociated with a state. The state change condition is a conditionaltrigger that specifies when to change a current state of operation andto which state to change to. The state change condition can be afunction of one or more sensor feeds, one or more timers, one or moreuser signals, or any combination thereof. For example, the sensor feedscan include a temperature probe inserted into a food target, atemperature sensor in the cooking appliance, a camera in the cookingappliance, or any combination thereof. The user signals can be from amobile device connected to the cooking appliance, an input button of thecooking appliance, a touchscreen of the cooking appliance, other inputcomponent of the cooking appliance, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the server system can cross-check the configurationparameters entered by the recipe designer for errors. For example, theserver system can detect (e.g., through simulation or patternrecognition of known problematic logic) a potential error or hazardassociated with the cooking recipe or the heating logic. The serversystem can then present the potential error or hazard via the recipedesign interface to notify the recipe designer.

At step 2106, the server system can publish the cooking recipe into anonline store (e.g., the recipe store). In some embodiments, the serversystem provides version control of the cooking recipe. In theseembodiments, the server system can maintain multiple versions of thecooking recipe (e.g., at least some of these versions are published).After the publication of the cooking recipe, at step 2108, the serversystem can present the cooking recipe in a graphical user interface(GUI) (e.g., the recipe distribution interface 1904) of the online storefor distribution to one or more cooking appliances or one or more mobiledevices. Each of the mobile devices can include an application capableof communicating with a cooking appliance.

At step 2110, the server system can distribute the cooking recipe fromthe server system to a requesting device (e.g., a device that selects acooking recipe to download). In some embodiments, prior to distributingthe cooking recipe, the server system can configure the cooking recipewith a digital rights management (DRM) mechanism to prevent furtherunauthorized distribution of the cooking recipe after said distributingto the requesting device.

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 2200 of configuring acooking appliance (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A and/or the cookingappliance 100B) with a cooking recipe, in accordance with variousembodiments. At step 2202, the cooking appliance can download a cookingrecipe from an external device. For example, the external device can bea server system (e.g., the server system 1900), a mobile device, or aportable memory device. The external device can be connected via awireless network, a physical port of the cooking appliance, or a peer topeer connection established by the cooking appliance.

At step 2204, the cooking appliance can execute the cooking recipe inthe cooking appliance in response to a user input and other user-relatedinformation. For example, the cooking appliance can detect placement offood into the cooking appliance. The cooking appliance can execute thecooking recipe in response to detecting the placement of food. Forexample, the cooking appliance can detect the placement of food by acamera in the cooking appliance, a weight sensor, a temperature probeconnected to the cooking appliance, a mechanical connection sensor of adoor of the cooking appliance, or any combination thereof. The cookingappliance can also adapt the cooking logic to user-related information,such as preferences entered by the user of learned by the cookingappliance based on prior user activity. For example, if a user selects alevel of doneness (e.g., medium rare) but provides feedback to thecooking appliance after the cook indicating that the user desired adifferent outcome (e.g., feedback through a user interface that therecipe was overcooked; manually instructing the cooking appliance tocook a meat for a longer period of time) then the cooking appliance canadjust the cooking logic to automatically provide the user with thedesired result.

The cooking recipe can include one or more heating logic sequencesrepresented as state machines. The cooking recipe can be the cookingrecipe designed and published in the method 2100. At sub-step 2206, inresponse to executing the cooking recipe, the cooking appliance candetermine which portion of the heating logic specified in the cookingrecipe to use. For example, the cooking recipe can specify one or moremeal kit package identifiers associated with one or more heating logicsequences. The cooking appliance can detect, via a camera of the cookingappliance, an optical label of the food target in the cooking appliance.The cooking appliance can match the optical label against the meal kitpackage identifiers (if any) to select a corresponding heating logicsequence (e.g., with a corresponding state machine). The cookingappliance can execute the corresponding heating logic sequence.

The cooking recipe can specify two or more operation modes and two ormore heating logic sequences associated with the operation modes. Forexample, the operation modes can include a low stress mode and a highspeed mode. The high speed mode requires an operating user of thecooking appliance to extract a food target from the cooking appliance ata specific time determined by the heating logic sequence. The low stressmode corresponds to a heating logic sequence that enables a range oftime during which the operating user can extract the food target withoutovercooking or undercooking the food target.

In some embodiments, the heating logic can specify an exception catchinglogic that monitors one or more sensor feeds, one or more user signals,one or more timers, or any combination thereof, to determine whether anunexpected event has occurred during said executing of the cookingrecipe. The cooking appliance can execute the exception catching logicto recover from the unexpected event.

In some embodiments, the cooking recipe specifies one or more heatinglogic configuration parameters to retrieve from an operating user. Inthese embodiments, when executing the cooking recipe, the cookingappliance can prompt, via an output component or a network interface ofthe cooking appliance, the operating user to enter the heating logicconfiguration parameters. The cooking appliance can receive, via aninput component or the network interface, user input associated with theheating logic configuration parameters.

At sub-step 2208, the cooking appliance can configure one or moreheating elements of the cooking appliance in accordance with an initialstate of the state machine. At sub-step 2210, the cooking appliance candetect a state change based on one or more sensor feeds, one or moretimers, one or more user signals, or any combination thereof. Atsub-step 2212, the cooking appliance can reconfigure at least one of theheating elements of the cooking appliance in response to the statechange according to the state machine. In some embodiments, the cookingappliance can reconfigure the heating elements based on the exceptioncatching logic to recover from the unexpected event.

During said executing of the cooking recipe, at step 2214, the cookingappliance can record data from one or more sensor feeds, one or moreuser signals, or any combination thereof, relative to the one or moretimers. At step 2216, the cooking appliance can prompt for user feedbackafter said executing of the cooking recipe. At step 2218, the cookingappliance can send the tracked sensor data and the user-specificinformation, including the user feedback and other user-relatedinformation determined by the cooking appliance, to a server system foranalysis. In various embodiments, the cooking appliance can also (oralternatively) maintain and analyze user-specific information.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300 (e.g., the temperature probe 1010 or thetemperature probe 1100) in communication with a cooking applianceoven-side measurement system 2304 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A orthe cooking appliance 100B), in accordance with various embodiments. Forexample, the cooking appliance 2304 can include a remote signalgenerator circuit 2310 and a remote signal reader circuit 2312. Theremote signal generator circuit 2310 can generate an excitation signalat varying frequencies periodically such that a first antenna 2314 ofthe wireless temperature measurement device 2300 can receive theexcitation signal. Waveform B of FIG. 30 depicts one possibility of suchan excitation signal. FIG. 30 is a graph diagram illustrating signalgenerator waveform for various embodiments of a remote signal generatorcircuit (e.g., the remote signal generator circuit 2310).

In this embodiment, a passive analog circuit 2318, coupled to the firstantenna 2314 and a temperature sensitive element 2322 forms a firstantenna assembly 2326 that is configured to receive signals generatedfrom the remote signal generator circuit 2310. The first antennaassembly 2326 is configured so that it receives the excitation signalswith different efficacy depending on the excitation signal's frequency.That is, the temperature sensitive element 2322 can change the resonantfrequency of the passive analog circuit 2318 depending on ambienttemperature. By configuring the first antenna assembly 2326 to have itsresonant frequency change with temperature, the first antenna assembly2326 is most effective at receiving energy when the signal generated bythe remote signal generator circuit 2310 matches the resonant frequencyof the first antenna assembly 2326.

At this point, it is sufficient for the remote signal reader circuit2312 to determine the temperature of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300. The remote signal reader circuit 2312 canmeasure scattering parameters (S-parameters) from the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300 to determine the most effectiveabsorbed frequency of the first antenna assembly 2326, which in turn,can yield the desired temperature reading from the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300. S-parameters (e.g., the elements of ascattering matrix or S-matrix) describe the electrical behavior oflinear electrical networks when undergoing various steady state stimuliby electrical signals.

Measuring the S-parameter from a transmitter may be relatively expensivemay lack reliability. The S-parameters are less reliable because itworks by detecting how much energy is absorbed by the resonant circuitin the first antenna assembly 2326. However, there are many ways forradio frequency energy to be absorbed. For example, different humidity,current geometry of the cooking vessel in question, proximity of humanbeings and other radiofrequency absorbing geometries.

To disambiguate absorption by environmental reasons or absorption by theresonant circuit, several embodiments of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2300 include an additional frequency multiplier 2330and a second antenna 2334. The frequency multiplier 2330 and the secondantenna 2334 to produce more reliable measurement for temperaturebecause the signal (e.g., indicative of a real-time temperature reading)transmitted back to the remote signal reader circuit 2312 would be outof band from the remote signal generator circuit 2310. Instead ofdetecting energy absorbed by the resonant circuit, the remote signalreader circuit 2312 can be configured to detect a peak second frequency,which is a multiple of the first frequency first absorbed by the firstantenna assembly 2326.

When the first frequency produced by the remote signal generator circuit2310 matches the resonance frequency of the first antenna assembly 2326,the energy absorption would be very efficient, causing the secondfrequency to be emitted with considerably higher strength. The remotesignal reader circuit 2312 can then use the relative strength of thesecond frequency to determine the temperature of the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2400 (e.g., the temperatureprobe 1010 or the temperature probe 1100). The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2400 can replace the wireless temperature measurementdevice 2300 of FIG. 23 and work with the cooking appliance 2304 of FIG.23. In FIG. 24, a first antenna 2402 is neither coupled to a temperaturesensitive element and nor to a passive analog circuit that wouldmodified its resonant frequency based on temperature. Instead,electromagnetic energy from the remote signal generator circuit 2310(not shown in FIG. 24) is directly absorbed by the first antenna 2402and multiplied, by a frequency multiplier 2406, before the multipliedsignal is fed into a second antenna assembly 2410. The second antennaassembly 2410 can include a second antenna 2414, a passive analogcircuit 2418 (e.g., similar to the passive analog circuit 2318), and atemperature sensitive element 2422 (e.g., similar to the temperaturesensitive element 2322).

In this embodiment, electromagnetic energy is absorbed by the firstantenna 2402 with similar efficiency as the first antenna 2314 of FIG.23 and multiplied. The coupling between the frequency multiplier 2406and the second antenna assembly 2410 is configured such that if theresonant frequency of the second antenna assembly 2410 matches thesignal frequency output from the frequency multiplier 2406, transmissionof energy can be efficient. The inverse is true if the output frequencyfrom the frequency multiplier 2406 does not match the resonant frequencyof the second antenna assembly 2410. From the observation point of theremote signal reader circuit 2312 of FIG. 23, the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2400 of FIG. 24 can behave similarly to the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2300 of FIG. 23.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2700. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 can be the wireless temperature measurementdevice 2300 or the wireless temperature measurement device 2400. Inthese embodiments, a first antenna 2702 can represent the first antenna2314 or the second antenna 2414. A first antenna assembly 2704 canrepresent the first antenna assembly 2326 or the second antenna assembly2410. A diode 2706 can be coupled to the first antenna assembly 2704 anda second antenna 2708 respectively on its terminals. The diode 2706 canrepresent the frequency multiplier 2330 or the frequency multiplier2406. The second antenna 2708 can be the second antenna 2334 of FIG. 23or the first antenna 2402 of FIG. 24.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2800. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2800 is similar to the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700, except for that a first antenna 2802 has aspiral shape. The first antenna 2802 can function the same as the firstantenna 2702. A first antenna assembly 2804 can function the same as thefirst antenna assembly 2704. A diode 2806 can function the same as thediode 2706. A second antenna 2808 can function the same as the secondantenna 2708.

In various antenna-diode-antenna embodiments, the first antenna (e.g.,the first antenna 2702 or the first antenna 2802) is adapted with ageometry and material such that the first antenna is temperaturesensitive and its resonant frequency varies with temperature. Thefunction of the frequency multiplier 2330 can be served by a singlediode (e.g., the diode 2706 and/or the diode 2806). In theseembodiments, the remote signal generator circuit 2310 excites the firstantenna 2702 or the first antenna 2802 of the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 or the wireless temperature measurement device2800 with varying first frequencies. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700 or the wireless temperature measurement device2800 can then reemit the received energy in a second varying frequencywhich is a multiple (e.g., double) of the first frequency from thesecond antenna 2708 or the first antenna 2802.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2900. The wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2900 is similar to the wireless temperaturemeasurement device 2700, except for that both an antenna 2902 and anantenna assembly 2904 are coupled to both terminals of a diode 2906. Theantenna 2902 can function the same as the first antenna 2702. Theantenna assembly 2904 can function the same as the first antennaassembly 2704. A diode 2806 can function the same as the diode 2706. Theantenna 2902 can also function the same as the second antenna 2708. Thiscan be done because the diode 2906 acts as a frequency multiplier, andthus prevents interference between the signal received on one end of thediode 2906 and the signal transmitted through another end of the diode2906.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2500 (e.g., the temperatureprobe 1010 or the temperature probe 1100) in communication with acooking appliance 2530. FIG. 25 represents at least one embodiment ofthe wireless temperature measurement device 2500 where a first antenna2502 can be used for the purpose of powering the device. The firstantenna 2502 is coupled to a temperature sensitive radiofrequencygenerator 2518. A power harvesting circuit 2506 receives power from thefirst antenna 2502 and delivers power to an oscillator 2510, whichgenerates a different frequency of signal based on temperature measuredby a temperature sensitive element 2514. In some embodiments, the firstantenna 2502 is configured to receive electromagnetic radio power. Insome embodiments, the first antenna 2502 is configured to receiveinduction power. The oscillator 2510, the power harvesting circuit 2506,and the temperature sensitive element 2514 can together be considered asthe temperature sensitive radiofrequency generator 2518.

The power harvesting circuit 2506 can contain power conditioningelements, which enable various electromagnetic energy received from thefirst antenna 2502 to be converted into usable energy for the oscillator2510. In some embodiments (not shown), instead of electromagneticenergy, the power harvesting circuit 2506 can harvest other types ofenergy from the ambient environment of the cooking appliance 2530. Forexample, the power harvesting circuit 2506 can harvest energy fromvibration (e.g., piezoelectric power harvesting) or temperaturegradients (e.g., Peltier power harvesting).

The signal generated by the temperature sensitive radiofrequencygenerator 2518 is fed into a second antenna 2522. The second antenna2522 can transmit/emit the signal from the temperature sensitiveradiofrequency generator 2518 for interpretation by a remote signalreader circuit 2526 (e.g., similar to the remote signal reader circuit2312).

A remote signal generator circuit 2528 in this embodiment does not needto produce a varying frequency signal. The function generated by theremote signal generator circuit 2528 for the first antenna 2502 can be awireless power generator. The remote signal reader circuit 2526 can be aradio frequency receiver. The remote signal generator circuit 2528 andthe remote signal reader circuit 2526 can be part of the cookingappliance 2530 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A or the cookingappliance 100B). Wireless power from the remote signal generator circuit2528 can be received by the first antenna 2502 and harvested by thepower harvesting circuit 2506. A second signal generated by theoscillator 2510 can be transmitted out of the second antenna 2522 andreceived by the remote signal reader circuit 2526. The second signal canbe used by a computing device of a cooking appliance to determine thetemperature of the wireless temperature measurement device 2500 based onthe second signal.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of awireless temperature measurement device 2600 (e.g., the temperatureprobe 1010 or the temperature probe 1100) in communication with acooking appliance 2630 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A or the cookingappliance 100B). The wireless temperature measurement device 2600 can besimilar to the wireless temperature measurement device 2500 with thefollowing differences. The wireless temperature measurement device 2600can include a temperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618 insteadof the temperature sensitive radiofrequency generator 2518. The wirelesstemperature measurement device 2600 can include a first antenna 2602,the temperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618, and a speaker2622. The temperature sensitive audio signal generator 2618 can includea power harvesting circuit 2606 (e.g., similar to the power harvestingcircuit 2506), an oscillator 2610 (e.g., similar to the oscillator2510), and a temperature sensitive element 2614 (e.g., similar to thetemperature sensitive element 2514). However, in the temperaturesensitive audio signal generator 2618, the oscillator 2610 is configuredto drive the speaker 2622 (e.g., an audio transducer).

A cooking appliance 2630 (e.g., the cooking appliance 100A or thecooking appliance 100B) can power and read temperature information fromthe wireless temperature measurement device 2600. For example, thecooking appliance 2630 can include a remote signal generator circuit2628 for generating a power signal to be harvested by the powerharvesting circuit 2606. The cooking appliance 2630 can include a remotesignal reader circuit 2626 that includes a microphone. The remote signalreader circuit 2626 and/or a computing device of the cooking appliance2630 can analyze the audio signal received from the speaker 2622 todetermine temperature information transmitted by the wirelesstemperature measurement device 2600.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe 3100. For example, the temperature probe 3100 can be thetemperature probe 1100 or the temperature probe 1200. The temperatureprobe 3100 can include a probe body 3102 (e.g., similar to the probebody 1102), a handle 3104 (e.g., similar to the handle 1140), a cable3106 (e.g., similar to the cable 1106), an insertion aid 3110 (e.g.,similar to the insertion aid 1136), and a tray connector 3114 (e.g.,similar to the tray attachment mechanism 1130). The insertion aid 3110includes holes within its surface. This feature advantageously enables afiner depth control when inserting the temperature probe 3100 due to thelarger surface area. The holes in its surface further enables heated airand radiation from the heating elements of a cooking appliance (e.g.,the cooking appliance 100) to pass through the insertion aid 3110without obstruction.

FIG. 32A is a side view of the temperature probe 3100 of FIG. 31 withthe insertion aid 3110 at a first position. FIG. 32B is a side view ofthe temperature probe 3100 of FIG. 31 with the insertion aid 3110 at asecond position.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe 3300. For example, the temperature probe 3300 can be thetemperature probe 1100 or the temperature probe 1200. The temperatureprobe 3300 can include a probe body 3302 (e.g., similar to the probebody 1102), a handle 3304 (e.g., similar to the handle 1140), a cable3306 (e.g., similar to the cable 1106), an insertion aid 3310 (e.g.,similar to the insertion aid 1136), and a tray connector 3314 (e.g.,similar to the tray attachment mechanism 1130). FIG. 34A is a side viewof the temperature probe 3300 of FIG. 33 with the insertion aid 3310 ata first position. FIG. 34B is a side view of the temperature probe 3300of FIG. 33 with the insertion aid 3310 at a second position.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of at least an embodiment of a temperatureprobe 3500. For example, the temperature probe 3500 can be thetemperature probe 1100 or the temperature probe 1200. The temperatureprobe 3500 can include a probe body 3502 (e.g., similar to the probebody 1102), a handle 3504 (e.g., similar to the handle 1140), a cable3506 (e.g., similar to the cable 1106), an insertion aid 3510 (e.g.,similar to the insertion aid 1136), and a tray connector 3514 (e.g.,similar to the tray attachment mechanism 1130). FIG. 36A is a side viewof the temperature probe 3500 of FIG. 35 with the insertion aid 3510 ata first position. FIG. 36B is a side view of the temperature probe 3500of FIG. 35 with the insertion aid 3510 at a second position.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of a cooking appliance 3700 with anin-oven camera system 3706, in accordance with various embodiments. Thein-oven camera system 3706 can be attached to the interior of a mainchamber 3710. In some embodiments, the in-oven camera system 3706includes a single camera. In some embodiments, the in-oven camera system3706 includes multiple cameras. The in-oven camera system 3706 caninclude an infrared sensor.

In the illustrated embodiment, the in-oven camera system 3706 is encasedwithin a secondary chamber 3714 separated from the main chamber 3710. Insome embodiments, the secondary chamber 3714 can be separated from themain chamber 3710 via a double pane window. The double pane window caninclude a first glass pane 3718 and a second glass pane 3722. The firstglass pane 3718 can be integral to the interior wall of the secondarychamber 3714. The second glass pane 3722 can be integral to the interiorwall of the main chamber 3710. The first glass pane 3718 and the secondglass pane 3722 can be separated by trapped air or vacuum. In someembodiments, the cooking appliance 3700 includes a heating system 3726to heat the second glass pane 3722 to prevent condensation. In someembodiments, the heating system 3726 is part of heating elements (e.g.,the heating elements 114A and 114B) of the cooking appliance 3700. Insome embodiments, the heating system 3726 is independent of the heatingelements. The heating system 3726 advantageously preventscondensation/fog from obscuring the view of the in-oven camera system3706.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 3700 includes a coolingsystem 3730. For example, the cooling system 3730 can be a forced aircooling fan, a compressor, a Peltier cooler, or any combination thereof.The cooling system 3730 can be disposed within the secondary chamber3714 (as illustrated) or in the main chamber 3710 (not shown). Inembodiments where the cooling system 3730 is the main chamber 3710, thecooling system 3730 can be directed toward the location adjacent to thesecondary chamber 3714.

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance 3800, in accordancewith various embodiments. The cooking appliance 3800 includes a chamber3802, a door 3806, an oven tray 3810, an oven rack 3812, a light engine3814, a camera 3818, a probe connector 3820, and a display 3822. Thechamber 3802 can be the chamber 102. The door 3806 can be the door 106.The oven tray 3810 can be the cooking platform 110. The oven tray 3810can be supported by the oven rack 3812. The light engine 3814 can be oneof the heating elements 114A or 114B. The camera 3818 can be the camera118A or the camera 118B. The display 3822 can be the display 122A or112B. The probe connector 3820 can couple with a temperature probe(e.g., the temperature probe 1100 via the tray attachment mechanism1130).

Referring to FIGS. 39-41, various embodiments of systems and methods forutilizing an in-oven camera will now be described. In variousembodiments a light source may be provided in cooking chamber forpurposes of image acquisition. However, the heating elements implementedin various embodiments of the present disclosure also generate light,which presents many problems for image acquisition and analysis forin-oven cameras. In various embodiments, the light generated by theheating elements sufficiently illuminate the oven chamber for imageacquisition, allowing the dedicated light source to be omitted. In someembodiments, individual heating elements may be selectively activatedfor short time durations during recipe execution, may undergo continuousvariation in power level, and may be selectively powered across a rangeof emission frequencies/wavelengths (e.g., from visible to infraredlight). As a result, the lighting conditions inside the cooking chamberare continually changing during execution of a recipe, which affects thecaptured image. For example, applying a high power level to a heatingelement can produce intense light, and rapidly adjusting the powerlevels will cause corresponding fluctuations in the emitted light. Insome embodiments, the spectrum of light emitted may be weighted towardscertain colors. In some embodiments, the spectra of light emitted mayvary rapidly between certain colors. In some embodiments, the light maybe weighted towards certain intensities, and in some embodiments, thelight emitted may vary rapidly between intensities.

Conventional image adjustments, such as white balancing and brightnessadjustments, are not sufficient to correct for the varying lightenvironment skewed spectrum in the cooking chamber of the presentdisclosure. A common white balancing approach is the “gray world”assumption, which assumes that every image scene is, on average, aneutral gray. This and similar assumptions may be invalid in the contextof imaging within an interior of a cooking chamber where the extremeshifts in lighting power and color affect the resulting image.

Producing a clean and accurate image may be valuable to many cookingcontexts. In some embodiments, the in-oven camera may be used to providean image stream to a user during recipe execution. The user may needaccurate image, color and brightness to assess the progress of therecipe. In some embodiments, camera images may be analyzed by the recipeexecution engine or other computing components to provide information onthe cooking progress and environmental conditions and events before,during and after recipe execution. Having detailed and accurate imagesmay be critical for accurate and reliable image analysis. For example,the recipe engine may monitor the doneness of toast during execution byanalyzing the changing color of the toasting bread (e.g., from white tobrown). If the image is too bright, too dark or the color is off, thenthe image analysis will likely be inaccurate and the recipe executionengine may produce an undesirable result.

FIG. 39 is a functional block diagram illustrating various embodimentsof a cooking appliance having an in-oven camera. A cooking appliance3900 includes a cooking chamber 3902 having at least one heating element3904, at least one in-oven camera 3906, optional sensor(s) 3908, acooking tray 3910 (or other cooking surface) and a food item 3912 to becooked. The cooking appliance 3900 further includes a plurality offunctional processing components which may be implemented in a computingdevice (such as computing device 206 described herein) having aprocessor, memory and/or other hardware and software components. In theillustrated embodiment, functional processing components include heatingand power control components 3920, image capture and processingcomponents 3922, a recipe execution engine 3924, feedback processingcomponents 3926 and a user interface 3934.

It will be appreciated that FIG. 39 provides a high level, functionalview of a cooking appliance for purpose of illustrating various aspectsof the present disclosure, and that the embodiments described herein arenot limited to a particular hardware, software or processingconfiguration, or cooking chamber contents or configuration. Forexample, one or more functions may be integrated in a single physicaldevice or a software module in a software product, or a function may beimplemented in separate physical devices or software modules, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Invarious embodiments, the processing components of FIG. 39 may beimplemented using the hardware and software previously described herein,for example computing device 206 and memories 210 and 214 of FIG. 2.

In operation, the recipe execution engine 3924 executes a heatingalgorithm to cook the food item 3912. The heating algorithm instructsthe heating/power control components 3920 to selectively activate one ormore of the heating elements 3904 to cook the food item to achieve adesired result. The feedback processing components may receive capturedimages from the image capture/processing components 3922, data fromother sensors 3908, information about the recipe and cooking status fromthe recipe execution engine 3924 and/or other data as available to thecooking appliance 3900. The data is received, features are extracted(input/feature extraction component 3928) and analyzed to determine aproperty, status or event (analysis/event detection components 3930).

In various embodiments, the analysis may be performed using one or moreneural networks and/or algorithms. For example, a heating sensor inputmay be converted to an appropriate scale (Fahrenheit or Celsius) anddirectly compared to a threshold. Image analysis may be performed, forexample, through a process that includes feature extraction (e.g.,converting image pixel information to a higher level subset of featuresfor input to the neural network such as through blob detection, edgedetection, and other image processing techniques), input of features toa trained neural network, and classification and labeling of the image(e.g., a food property such as food height, status information such asprogress of a cook, or an event such as smoke in the chamber). Theresults may be output (3932) to relevant components of the cookingappliance 3900, including providing feedback to the recipe executionengine 3924 and/or user through a user interface 3934.

In various embodiments, one or more of the processing components areoperable to model the light spectrum illuminated by the heating elements3904. For example, the recipe execution engine 3924 can be configured toselect and execute a heating algorithm associated with one or more foodprofiles or recipes. The heating algorithm may selectively activate oneor more of the heating elements 3904 to emit various excitablewavelengths and/or at various powers to cook the meal. In someembodiments, the color temperature and/or power of light emitted by aheating element may be determined from the instantaneous or historicalelectrical power pumped into each heating element, the materialproperties of each heating element (e.g., tungsten lamp), the surfacearea each heating element and other properties of each heating element.In operation, the image capture/processing components 3922 capture animage from inside the chamber 3902 and adjust the image by balancing theimage in accordance with the measured or inferred emitted colortemperature, brightness and/or other parameters. In some embodiments,the chamber 3902 may be illuminated by a plurality of heating elements,each of which may separately affect the color temperature and/or powerof light inside the chamber 3902 at a particular time.

Various embodiments of a process 4000 for image capture and processingwill now be described with reference to FIG. 40. First, in step 4002,one or more of the processing components initiates an image capturesequence. For example, the recipe execution engine 3924 may track theprogress of a recipe by analyzing images periodically captured by thein-oven camera 3906 at various times during the cook. As anotherexample, a user may activate the image capture sequence through a userinterface to visually track the progress of the cook by viewing imagescaptured by the in-oven camera 3906.

In step 4004, the heating algorithm is paused and the heating/powercontrol components 3920 control one or more of the heating elements toan image capture state. In some embodiments, the heating elements aredriven to a certain temperature by applying an appropriate amount ofpower to the heating element. In this manner, the interior of thechamber 3902 will be consistently illuminated during image acquisition,and the captured image may be adjusted for accurate processing.

The image acquisition process may include sending a signal to drive afilament of a heating element to a certain temperature, waiting for theheating element temperature to stabilize around the desired imagingtemperature and then acquiring the image while the imaging temperatureis stabilized. For example, a tungsten filament will increase intemperature as more power is received, thus increasing the temperatureof the filament, the power of the emitted light and the emitted peakwavelengths/frequencies. In various embodiments, the in-oven camera 3906is synchronized to capture an image when the heating element reaches adesired temperature (steps 4006 and 4008). In one or more embodiments,the image capture and processing components 3922 estimate how long ittakes for a heating element to heat up to a desired temperature and thenwait for a corresponding amount of time (e.g., 1 second) beforecapturing the image. In one embodiment, when the heating elements reacha stabilized temperature, a signal is sent from the heating controlprocess components to the image acquisition process components. Afterimage capture, the heating algorithm is resumed (step 4010) to continuewith the cook. In various embodiments, steps 4004 through 4010 may beprocessed efficiently (e.g., in less than 1-2 seconds depending on thesystem configuration) to minimize the time that the cooking algorithm ispaused. One skilled in the art will appreciate that spectral powerdistribution, and specifically peak wavelength, are related to heatingelement (specifically, the filament in the heating element) temperatureby Planck's law. In addition, in some embodiments, the power output ofthe heating element (specifically, the filament) is related to thetemperature of the heating element (specifically, the filament) throughthe Stefan-Boltzmann law due to physical properties of the heatingelement (specifically, the filament).

By driving the heating element to a particular temperature before imageacquisition, a baseline color temperature and brightness for the chamber3902 is used, allowing the captured image to be adjusted (step 4010) forconsistent image processing results. In this manner, a user visuallytracking the image will see a consistent and accurate image of the food,and the image processing components will receive images having aconsistent color and brightness for processing.

The image acquisition and processing components may further includeimaging known color points to adjust the captured image (step 4012). Forexample, heating elements with reflective coatings may provide a colorpoint. In other embodiments, specific markers may be installed in thechamber 3902 to act as known color points and/or camera components suchas gaskets may be processed as known color points. In variousembodiments, the captured image is adjusted to the known illuminationspectrum generated by the heating elements, allowing for directmeasurement and adjustment against one or more known color points.

Advantages of the methods disclosed herein for image capture will beapparent to those skilled in the art. During operation of the cookingappliances disclosed herein, color temperature, brightness and otherfactors can change very rapidly during cooking resulting in widevariations in the quality of captured images, which can negativelyimpact a user's visual inspection of the food and image processingduring a cook or negatively impact algorithms that use captured imagesas part of their input. Heating and power control algorithms may cyclethrough heating elements (e.g., power each heating element for 5seconds), and drive the heating elements to emit energy at differentwavelengths and powers (e.g., a higher-frequency and power and shorterpeak emission wavelength for searing; lower-frequency and power andlonger peak emission wavelength for heating an inner portion of a fooditem). By driving the heating elements to a known state, a consistentcolor temperature is generated for image capture. In variousembodiments, a steady state may be reached when the heating element isdriven to a certain power level (e.g., 90-95% of the desired powerlevel) and maintained at that power level for a desired duration.

In various embodiments, the recipe execution engine can identifypotential image acquisition states within a heating algorithm for aparticular recipe and synchronize image acquisition to coincide withthose states (e.g., through synchronized timing and/or passing asignal/message). It will be appreciated that many heating algorithms maynot achieve an acquisition state during operation and that a process,such as process 4000 in FIG. 40, may be implemented for imageacquisition.

In various embodiments, the possibly adjusted images from one or morein-oven cameras may be used to determine various geometrical propertiesof food items in the oven, such as size, shape, thickness, location, andplacement density. These and other properties affect heat absorptionrates, shading of edible substances by objects in the oven, thermal massand, ultimately, the cooking results. In one or more embodiments,measurements may be made using two or more cameras to calculate thelocation of various imaged objects in the three-dimensional spacecomprising the oven chamber. In another embodiment, structured lightsuch as grid or dot patterns may be projected (e.g., by a laserprojected though a diffractive element) onto the food for imaging by thecamera. The projected grid allows the contours of the food to bedisplayed in the image, and the geometric properties of the image canthen be calculated (e.g., through triangulation) therefrom.

In various embodiments, a laser emitter or other collimated light sourcemay be placed above the food, for example in the center of a cookingzone, to emit a beam onto the food below when the image is captured.Knowledge of the camera and oven geometry relative to the food allowsfood height information to be determined from the location of the laserdot on the food within the image.

In some embodiments, markers and/or known physical properties of variouscomponents (e.g., rivets, holes, rails) may be installed on the interiorof the chamber, on the cooking tray, a temperature probe or othercomponents in the chamber to assist with extrinsic camera calibrationand property determination by comparative measurements. For example,markers on the cooking tray can be used to measure the food. A probe,for example, may include stripes etched on the lance, allowing theheight and location of food to be measured by analysis of the stripesvisible on the image.

Measurements may also be taken using time of flight measurements devicessuch as LIDAR. For example, a laser may send a pulse towards the foodand a sensor can sense the reflection off the food to measure the foodheight. In another embodiment, one or more sensors can detect thelocation and properties of the food as it is being placed into thechamber. Measurements, such as using one or more techniques disclosedabove, can be used to measure the height and location of the food as itmoves into position in the oven. For example, a tray may comprise threecooking zones that sequentially pass into or through a measurementlocation within the chamber. A measurement for the food in each zone canbe taken as the food passes through a location that facilitatesmeasurement. In some embodiments, measurements of the food may also betaken outside of the oven, such as imaging the food from differentangles through an app on a camera phone and generating athree-dimensional model of the food from the images.

Image features can be extracted from captured images (components 3928)and analyzed algorithmically, through deep learning, neural networks orother algorithms (components 3930) to analyze a scene. Other indicia offood geometry may include probes and other accessories having certainknown shapes or attachments or markers that promote location andorientation detection. In various embodiments, measurements may bedetermined by providing one or more images and sensor data to a neuralnetwork for analysis and/or event detection. For example, the neuralnetwork may analyze the image and determine a food height or placementdensity.

In other embodiments, image capture and analysis may be used to correctuser mistakes and protect elements of the cooking system from improperuse. Improper placement of food items and trays, using the incorrectaccessory or tray can alter, and even ruin, cooking outcomes. Whencertain components are in close proximity to heater they can be damagedfrom the intense heat. Image capture and processing algorithms can beused to prevent these issues. In various embodiments, a captured imagemay be analyzed to detect improper tray placement, improper tray usage,improper accessory usage, probe cable kinking, proximity of probe cableto heaters, detection of broken heaters, food items being placed inincorrect positions on the tray, unexpected food items on the tray, foodthickness or piling causing surfaces to be too close to heaters, and/orother issues visible on the captured image.

Image capture and processing can also be used to detect events that mayimpact cooking or that results in problems for the end user. The imagecapture and processing system can detect events and/or problems such asfood charring, flames, smoke, steam condensation, expulsion of juicesand/or other detectable events. In some embodiments, the image captureand processing can be used to analyze and detect issues with the cookingappliance itself that may, in turn, impact cooking. For example,accumulation of oils, grease or condensation on the camera lens or theglass separating the camera lens from the rest of the chamber can bedetected through image analysis and a notification may then betransmitted to the user.

Image capture and processing can also be used to accumulate data fromone or more physical components that may not otherwise be configuredfor, or capable of, interaction with the cooking appliance. For example,a conventional temperature probe may include a physical temperaturegauge that displays a sensed temperature. The image capture andprocessing algorithms may identify the temperature probe and read thedial during the cook to receive the internal temperature of the protein.In various embodiments, image capture and processing may be used to readdials, read Vernier scales, detect changes in shape or extension,changes in color, changes in reflectivity, and signals from embeddedlight sources. In various embodiments the camera may image the chamber,detect the presence of one or more objects, identify the object and reada measurement or property from the object.

To further improve cooking, image capture and processing can be used todetect food states or changes during the cooking process. One example isdetecting food browning or searing. Some ways image capture andprocessing can be employed in this way include using deep learning orneural networks or other algorithms to detect changes not easilydescribed by humans, detect changes in surface color, detect changes insize, detect movement, detect changes in shape, detect uniformity andgradients of the objects, detect initial conditions and/or detect otherstate characteristics. Such techniques can be combined with historicaldata for recipes, or such historical data can at times be used alone.Similarly, such techniques may be combined with other sensormeasurements. Feedback from image capture/processing and analysis can beused to stop recipes or alter the flow of the recipe. Recipes can bedesigned to compensate to allow for such changes while still achievingthe desired end result.

In one embodiment, the cooking appliance uses a neural network toclassify an image to detect food cooking events. The neural network maybe trained by entering numerous images from successful and unsuccessfulcooks, labeled and verified by experienced chefs. In operation, an imagemay be acquired, features extracted and then provided to a trainedneural network to produce a label for the image. The label can representan event or state to be acted upon by the system. In some embodiments,the neural network may include sensor inputs and other data (e.g., atemperature sensor, food properties) as needed to check the event. Theneural network can operate based on the current state, historicalstatistical data, and/or by combining data from various images andsensors throughout the cook.

Referring to FIG. 41, a cooking method 4100 using image analysis willnow be described in accordance with various embodiments. At step 4102,an image capture process is initiated, and one or more images iscaptured in step 4104 (and optionally, data from one or more sensors).In various embodiments, the image is adjusted to a stabilized colortemperature and brightness and other image processing may be performed,such as dewarping/undistorting, compression, and/or noise/artifactremoval. In step 4106, features are extracted from the captured imageand received sensor data. The features are then provided to an analysismodule to determine image properties and/or detect food status orcooking events (step 4108). Feedback is then provided to the user (e.g.,correct improperly placed trade or food) or recipe engine (e.g., adjustcooking algorithm based on measured height or detection of an eventduring the cook) (step 4110).

Some embodiments of the disclosure have other aspects, elements,features, and steps in addition to or in place of what is describedabove. These potential additions and replacements are describedthroughout the rest of the specification. Reference in thisspecification to “one embodiment”, “various embodiments” or “someembodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Alternative embodiments(e.g., referenced as “other embodiments”) are not mutually exclusive ofother embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may beexhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, variousrequirements are described which may be requirements for someembodiments but not other embodiments. Reference in this specificationto where a result of an action is “based on” another element or featuremeans that the result produced by the action can change depending atleast on the nature of the other element or feature.

Some embodiments of the disclosure have other aspects, elements,features, and steps in addition to or in place of what is describedabove. These potential additions and replacements are describedthroughout the rest of the specification.

1. A cooking appliance comprising: a heating element disposed within acooking chamber of the cooking appliance and operable to selectivelyemit waves at any of a plurality of powers and/or peak wavelengths; acamera operable to capture an image of at least a portion of the cookingchamber; and a computing device operable to: supply power to the heatingelement to vary the power and/or peak wavelength of the emitted wavesand generate heat within the cooking chamber; and instruct the camera tocapture the image when the heating element is emitting at a stabilizedpower and/or peak wavelength; wherein the heating element is operable toemit at the stabilized power and/or peak wavelength, generating lightwithin the cooking chamber having a corresponding stabilized colortemperature and/or power, and wherein a brightness of the captured imageis adjusted, at least in part, by compensating for a calculatedstabilized power.
 2. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein thecomputing device is operable to digitally adjust the captured image, atleast in part based on a known color temperature and brightness of lightemitted from the heating element in an image capture state.
 3. Thecooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the computing device is furtheroperable to: initiate an image capture sequence; pause a heatingalgorithm executed by a recipe execution engine; the heating element toan image capture state at a stabilized power and/or peak wavelength;detect the image capture state; capture the image; and resume theheating algorithm.